Taming the beast
by HogwartsScribbler
Summary: Elizabeth "Izzy" Jones is an awkward techie working for SHIELD who gets the job of lab assistant to the good doctor Bruce Banner. Will she be able to bring him out of his shell without unleashing the beast within? Bruce/OC
1. Chapter 1

Elizabeth 'Izzy' Jones was a tech nerd in SHIELD and she was not happy. At 4am this morning she was woken and told to pack a bag, now she stood on the Helicarrier deck, sipping on a can of coke and waiting for the big event, they were bringing in the big shots and she wanted to see. Being an insomniac and getting woken after only just falling asleep and now relying heavily on sugar and soda to keep herself alert, she expected a good show.

She had got onto the carrier ok, shown to her small quarters which had the basics, bed, desk and tiny bathroom. After about 2 minutes of staring around the room and pretending to be happy with it she was shown to her lab. That did make her happy, she would rather sleep in the lab than her room. Now she was waiting, she was told they had brought in Bruce Banner and that he would be using her lab while she assisted him, she didn't mind being made into an assistant, frankly she was interested in working with Banner. She knew if Banner hadn't agreed they would have brought in Stark and she hated Stark. She wasn't sure why, jealousy of him having it all or maybe it was just his smart ass mouth that annoyed her, either way, she couldn't handle the guy much.

The jets landed and she made her way over, spotting the all American boy Steve Rogers coming out, Coulson walked close beside him, Izzy smiled, she knew he was a bit of a fanboy of Captain America. She read the comics as a kid too but she wasn't going to make the guy feel anymore uncomfortable than he already was. Being in this time would be difficult. The two approached and Rogers looked at her strangely.

"Mr Rogers this is Izzy, she's one of our tech agents." Phil introduced, she offered her hand and Rogers shook it in a gentlemanly manner before reaching up and touching her hair.

"Forgive me ma'm but this is amazing." He spoke as he absent-mindedly fingered her hair, she had to laugh.

"It's called hair dye." She looked up to him as he kept his fingers in her dark purple hair with two green and black streaks at the front. Yes working in a lab usually meant you could look however strange you wanted. They all looked as Bruce Banner was lead over by Natasha, Izzy respected her a lot, but the two weren't that close. Natasha was cool and confident while Izzy was awkward most of the time.

Natasha introduced him to Rogers and Coulson before looking to Izzy.

"This is Agent Jones, you will be working with her." Natasha said, not going into details as they were going to be briefed in the control room.

"Just called me Izzy, everyone does." She smiled.

Bruce offered his hand and smiled politely, Izzy shook his hand, noting that it was a gentle and warm shake. Letting go slowly she noticed a soft blush on the good doctors cheeks, she wasn't used to seeing men blush. They all walked into the Helicarrier as it was prepared to go down, Bruce making a comment about keeping him in a sub being a bad idea. He was in for a surprise, they were all lead to the control room as the carrier took lift, she smiled over to Bruce when she saw his face.

They stood infront of Fury as he explained their roles before Stark showed up, of course he would. Izzy stood and watched as he drew all attention with his long self-loving spiel. He walked over to Bruce and shook his hand.

"I've heard a lot about you, I really like that thing you do, you know, get angry and turn green?" Stark teased, he always enjoyed causing trouble.

After it was all said and done Izzy showed Bruce to the lab, Stark following as he had invited himself. They all filed into the large, beautiful lab as Izzy showed Bruce to the system she had set up to find the Tesseract, Bruce, being the specialist on Gamma radiation, made a few tweeks but was generally pleased with what she had set up on short notice.

She went over to a set of drawers, digging out a KitKat, unwrapping it as she walked back over.

"Want half?" She asked, looking over to Bruce who smiled softly.

"Uh, thanks." He took the offered chocolate, looking to the young woman as he ate it. Stark making a comment on favortism as she rolled her eyes, he looked her over a little, short, crazy hair, wearing a tshirt that read "Talk nerdy to me" and munching on chocolate at roughly 9am. She wasn't what he expected when he was told he'd be working with one of their top technical specialists. He had expected a much older, tamed woman. Izzy just seemed, eccentric maybe. He would have to wait and see, it was a pleasant change though, having a woman around him who knew who he was but didn't seem to walk on eggshells with him. Even Natasha was careful of what she said. His thoughts were stopped as he felt a sharp poke in the side, looking to see Stark with a smile and looking at him expectantly.

"What, nothing?" Stark said, looking let down.

"I wouldn't have agreed to come if I couldn't handle that." He spoke softly.

"I suppo-oh!" Stark jumped a little, looking angrily at the small lab assistant who was smiling wickedly, holding her own pointy object.

"So the little techie has some fight in her, huh? I like that in a woman, maybe I should show you what else I use to prod..." Stark teased, he was notorious for his behaviour around women. Izzy looked at him like he was stupid.

"You're not my type." She said simply with a shrug of her shoulders. This really seemed to shock Stark.

"Me? Tony Stark, good looking, billionare genius is not your type? I can't buy that." He obviously needed answers, his ego was a little wounded.

"You're kinda old... and like... a man-child." She said without really thinking, yes she had a way of insulting people by giving her honest opinion.

"I'm not old! Look at Bruce here, he's my age. We're not old right Brucey?" He said, throwing an arm around the other man.

"I'm staying out of this." He spoke softly, mostly finding amusement in the arguement between the two.

"Even if he is your age, Bruce has aged better so he looks better and he doesn't act like a child." She spoke, this caught Bruce's attention, she had just openly admitted that she thought he looked better than Stark, a man who never had a problem getting women. This made him blush.

"Ah I get it, you don't want to offend the big guy so you're picking him over me. I suppose I can handle that." Tony walked over to play with his phone, leaving the two to exchange an awkward look.

"You don't have to worry about offending me..." Bruce spoke softly, now believing her words were out of pity, trying to make him happy. She smiled softly.

"I'm not. I do think you look better than Stark." She smiled and leaned in a little, whispering for only him to hear.

"I don't like his facial hair." She smiled to him, so she preferred clean shaven men, that explained it a bit more, he smiled.

The morning passed by quickly, Izzy and Tony getting into several arguements, though they seemed to be enjoying them more and more. It seemed like a love-hate friendship was building. Bruce kept back and observed mostly, Tony kept trying to get him to change, his attempts would not work. Izzy seemed to have a constant sugar supply, he wondered if there was candy hidden throughout the lab, she was also typically quiet when she worked, in fact, to block out Tony she had slipped on headphones and was now listening to music.

Now that it was lunchtime and Tony had left to take a call from Pepper, he realised how hungry he was. He hadn't really eaten on the plan over, he took off his glasses, rubbing the bridge of his nose before walking over.

"Izzy?" He spoke softly as always, she couldn't hear him, even he could hear the music coming from her headphones. He cautiously reached out, placing a hand on her shoulder, he was always careful when touching people, since his accident he tried to keep an aloof distance with others. She looked to him and smiled, taking off her headphones.

"What's up?" She smiled, looking to him.

"Uh, it's about lunchtime and I'm not really sure where to go." He smiled softly and she got up, leaving the mp3 player and lead him down a series of hallways to find the mess hall. A few various agents were there as well as Steve Rogers, he seemed nice enough. He and Izzy got a tray of food each, going over to sit with him. Most of the agents didn't know if they should approach him or not, while Coulson seemed to be glued to his side.

"Phil, have you gave Mr Rogers any space today?" Izzy teased, she obviously knew Coulson, he looked down and smiled some, being caught out.

"Please Miss Izzy, just call me Steve." The captain commented, reaching across the table to touch Izzy's hair. Bruce didn't like this, something deep inside him stirred, Rogers shouldn't be touching her. No, must stop. Thinking like that was bad. He barely knew this girl, getting possessive of her was very bad. But it was the other guy and he could not control that.


	2. Chapter 2

After lunch, which was harder for Bruce than he was willing to admit to himself, he and Izzy returned to the lab, where she quickly dug out a can of coke. Where did she keep those? She came over, sipping on her sugar filled drink.

"Want some?" She held out the can to him, the same can she was drinking from. He took it carefully from her small, delicate fingers and took a small drink before handing it back, smiling softly.

"Thanks... you know most people are... less comfortable around me." He looked to her, she gave a shrug.

"I can't really see how offering you a drink would piss you off. Frankly if you were that bad, you wouldn't be here right?" She looked to him.

"I suppose not." He smiled, fixing his glasses, blushing softly as she took a drink, most people would have never done that, some people feared getting radiation poisoning just from being around him.

"Can I ask you something? About... the other guy?" She looked at him seriously, of course, people always wanted to know about the other guy, no one wanted to know about Bruce, that thought was a little painful but he gave a nod. He was reminded of Betty, she always wanted to know about it, always tried to dig deeper into his mind when he just wanted to leave those subjects for when he was ready. He hadn't seen Betty since the New York incident, it was better that way, she aggrivated the other guy too much and that was bad.

"How do you keep your pants on after you've changed?" She looked to him as if this question was the most serious around, stared in confusion before laughing softly. That had completely thrown him off.

"My pants? That's what you want to know?" He smiled to her and she gave a nod.

"It's curious, I mean, when you change you're huge, by all rights your pants should be torn off but from what I've seen, they always stay." She smiled, he pushed his fingers through his hair.

"Well, I wear slightly baggy pants, that usually helps, the rest is just luck I think..." He smiled softly looking to her as she gave a nod in understanding.

"SHIELD should issue you with some type of stretchy pants, so you know, you won't lose them no matter what form you're in." She talked about it so casually, he relaxed significantly, there were no questions asked about his mental state or anything else that would be too hard to answer. They smiled at each other for a short moment.

"Ooh, am I interrupting anything?" Of course Stark had to come in now. Izzy smiled over playfully.

"We were just discussing how to kill you and get away with it. Bruce has a great idea on how to do it." She smirked and nudged Bruce in the side gently as he gave an awkward smile.

"Oh? And how might that be? I can't see how a techie and a scientist could take out the great Iron Man." He smiled, leaning against a desk casually.

"The other guy of course, right Brucey?" She smiled over to him, he seemed to scared of talking about him, she felt she needed to help him get over that fear.

"Uh yeah, everyone will believe you pissed me off, we'll get away with it easily..." He tried to join in with the fun though he was a little uncomfortable.

"And how would you calm him down after offing me? That might be a bit tough for such a little lady." He smirked.

"Boobs." She smiled, causing Tony to smile and Bruce to blush.

"Boobs?" Tony asked, wanting to see where this was going.

"Yes, my boobs. He may be large and green but he's still a man who I'm sure would appreciate the peep show, don't you agree Bruce?" She smiled over to him, he looked like an awkward teenager despite being a grown, mature man.

"Um yeah, that would work." He looked to his feet, feeling something deep in his stomach agreeing fully that the other guy would like that.

"The great Hulk getting some action huh? Well that might just be worth watching. We could film it, it'd made a packet in the porn industry, they're always looking for the weird and wonderful." Tony grinned as he teased, looking to the others who were both now a little embarassed, though Izzy hid it well her cheeks were still a light shade of red.

The afternoon continued on with similar teasing until Izzy had to get back to her work, this was a bad idea as Tony was being entertained by her, now however he was bored and Tony Stark was not behaved when he was bored. He went back to his original goal of testing Bruce's anger switches. With Izzy's headphones on and music playing in her ears, he felt free to probe the doctor.

"So you and her seem to be getting along very well, is someone getting a crush on his little lab assistant?" He smirked, standing beside Bruce to see his cheeks tint red, well he did hit a nerve somewhere.

"Don't be silly Tony, she's far too young, she can't be older than 20..." He looked over to the young girl, she was typing away while wiggling about to her music, some piece of candy hanging from her mouth as she chewed on it. She was cute.

"She is 25 actually. Just aged well, just like you have according to her." He grinned, Bruce was becoming more awkward by the minute.

"How do you know her age? And she may be older but that's still too young for a man of my age and even so, I'm not a normal man." He was being evasive but it was obvious to Tony, a certified genius that there was something there.

"Her file isn't exactly on lockdown on these computers. And when a man of your age snags a girl of her age, it's considered a great accomplishment not a sin. Also, just because you're a different breed of man doesn't mean you don't need some love too." He nudged the other man and gave a smirk.

Bruce looked back to the girl with multi-coloured hair and looked back down, he didn't know this girl properly, she had never seen the other guy, it was all too soon for his liking.

"No one said you had to marry this girl, just get to know her..." Tony smiled wide and gave the doctor a slap on the back, Bruce knew exactly what he meant by getting to know her, it was a good thing he and Tony weren't alike in the area of women.


	3. Chapter 3

By early evening Bruce had caught himself watching Izzy six times, six times in which he scolded himself. He wouldn't allow himself to get close to a woman, Bruce was a brilliant thinker but women confused him and usually caused stress, he was not a man who needed anymore stress.

"Ready for dinner?" She called across the lab as she took her headphones off and looked over to him, she smiled, a day of almost constant contact and he still seemed shy. It would take a bit to get him talking. He gave a small nod of his head. Tony had gone off after checking his phone, little did they know that he was off helping Steve round up the god of lies.

Izzy lead Bruce down the hallways once more and into the mess hall, going over to get some food she looked around at the tables.

"Hmm, Steve isn't here, he was kind of fun to talk to." She shrugged and went over to an empty table with Bruce, not seeing his slight twitch as she mentioned the Captain. They sat down and ate, the conversation soft and simple, Bruce was trying to work it out, why he was jealous of Steve when he hadn't know this girl for long. Maybe it was the fact that Steve could so easily reach out and touch her hair as if it were nothing while Bruce could barely look her in the eye. The few moments of contact made him nervous, he knew he couldn't get too close, even if she was cute and fun... No, he couldn't not think about that, he looked down to his meal, focusing solely on his food.

"Bruce?" His thoughts on how the casserole was cooked were stopped and he looked up to her, she was touching his arm and Agent Coulson was sitting beside her. Did he miss something?

"Didn't you hear Phil? Steve and Tony are out fighting Loki now in Germany! We should finish up here and go back to the lab, I could bring up the radio report on the computers." She looked to him and he gave a nod, if they could get Loki, they could get the Tesseract and his job would be over, he'd return to India and forget all about the cute lab assistant. He dared to look up at her, she was looking at him intently with those big eyes, his stomach twisted a little. What was it about her that made him like this?

After eating quickly they returned to the lab and Izzy brought up the radio signals that came from the communicators Steve and Tony had, they heard Fury giving orders as the two men bickered.

"Remind me to tell Tony I'll take away his toys if he can't learn to play nice." Izzy smiled over to him, he gave a soft smile and gave a nod. And then it happened, they got him. Soon he was loaded onto the jet and they were bringing him in. They returned to simple busy work while they waited, unaware of the other god coming into the situation or anything that followed.

After about an hour the Hellicarrier was alive with activity, Bruce and Izzy stood together as gaurds moved down the hallway outside, they looked through the glass as they saw Loki walk along proudly, as if he wasn't a prisoner at all. The god turned his sight to the two of them, first he looked to Izzy and gave a predatory smile, Bruce placed an arm around her waist without thinking, pulling her to him in some attempt to protect her from the god's eyes. It was at this action that Loki turned his eyes to Bruce, the expression he gave made Bruce very uncomfortable. Within a second he was gone, off to be locked in the prison designed for the Hulk. He took his hand off her quickl and stepped away.

"Sorry I... I shouldn't have done that." He looked up to her, she shrugged a little and smiled.

"It's fine, that guy creeped me out too." She said simply, he relaxed seeing that she didn't think anymore into his actions, he felt possessive of her but he didn't understand why. After a little while they made their way to the control room to find out the situation, Tony was there and was looking tired, Izzy smiled over.

"Tony, you look like crap." She teased as he looked over and gave a bit of a smile.

"And you my dear still look ravishing." He grinned, somehow Bruce wasn't bothered by what could be considered flirting, perhaps because he knew nothing would become of them. He stiffened some as Steve made his way over to her, touching her hair gently and standing beside her. Bruce stood on her other side, doing all he could not to think about the smile she had given Steve.

They were introduced to Thor and there were some arguements between the main men, they clashed heavily in personality. Loki was questioned but that was mostly useless, until Natasha went in and made her backwards interrogation that worked perfectly. Loki had admitting to wanting to get the other guy involved and that bothered Bruce, he tensed when he heard it, however Izzy's hand on his arm seemed to make him tense even more for a different reason, he enjoyed her touch and that was not good.

Izzy walked ahead of Bruce and Tony to the labs, she somehow sensed that the men needed to talk about this situation, what she didn't know was that their topic of choice was something entirely different.

"Man, you really need to relax. You look like a teenage boy with a crush on his teacher or something. It's embarassing to watch. We are refined men of science, you need to get yourself some swagger." Tony stated casually as he walked along with Bruce, who pushed his fingers through his hair.

"I don't want to talk about this Tony." He warned, this subject was not something he wanted to get into.

"Seriously, you've been with other women, you should know how this works." Tony said, ignoring the warning altogether.

"Yes but..." Bruce felt his cheeks heat up, he looked over to Tony as he waited expectantly for Bruce to continue.

"I've... I haven't been with a woman since the accident." He said, looking to the floor and not seeing Tony staring.

"Well it's no wonder you're so awkward with her. That's 3 years... that's... that's just not physically possible." It wasn't for a man like Tony at least, he was stunned beyond belief.

"Yes well, what if one of my triggers is being with a woman? Accelerated heart rate and all... I can't just risk that." Bruce spoke awkwardly, this entire subject was not something he wanted to talk about and especiallity not with someone like Tony.

"Ever thought that going without it would build up the tension and stress? You and little Izzy should have a little... stress release, it'd be healthy." Bruce flinched a little at Tony's words, Tony's idea of sex wasn't what Bruce would call healthy but at the same time, he did speak some truth, he knew he was tense, he was always tense and Izzy's hand on his arm was enough to raise that tension, that meant something. But he also respected women and couldn't just use them for stress release, he also knew there was a chance of the other guy being brought on by it and he wouldn't risk hurting anyone.


	4. Chapter 4

After doing a check on the scan Izzy showed Bruce to his room, which was close to hers. They said a brief goodnight and Izzy returned to her room. She showered and got changed into some track pants and a singlet top, knowing she wouldn't sleep much tonight. Setting herself up with her laptop and music, she did some personal projects before pulling her headphones down to hang around her neck. She was bored and sleep would not come anytime soon.

Bruce looked around the small room he had been given, he took a long hot shower, glad to have it after travel and the day of work, he was guessing he probably didn't smell too good and that people were just being polite in not saying anything. He looked down at himself, trying to think of the last time he had been with a woman. Betty. Before the change, before their break up. They had argued after it, she wanted him to open up to her and he simply didn't know what it was she wanted him to tell her. He sighed and turned off the water, wrapping a towel around his waist as he walked into the small bedroom, he searched his bag for something to wear, he had packed light, swearing he'd find a way after this to escape their radar. He was angry that they had kept an eye on him the entire time when he thought he had escaped them. He pulled out some underwear, he didn't really have anything else to sleep in and with the heat in India, he hadn't bothered much with pajamas. He slipped his glasses back on and took out an old book, reading for a while before allowing himself to sleep. It wasn't long before the nightmares would start.

Izzy got up and decided to take a walk, the Helicarrier would be quiet this time of night, she didn't get far before she heard moaning, at first she thought two of the agents must have decided to have a date night until she looked and realised it was Bruce's door, she carefully pressed her ear to the door and heard the moaning again, it was not a moan of pleasure but one of pain. She wasn't sure what she would find but she swiped her access card and stepped inside as the door opened, coming over in the dark she saw Bruce tangled in his sheets, shaking and crying out. A night terror? She moved over and sat on the edge of the bed, she rubbed his back slowly and whispered words of comfort to him, he seemed to relax a great deal until he shot up, pushing her off the bed in the process, she landed with a thud and let a gasp of pain out. Bruce flicked on the small light beside his bed and looked down to her, squinting he saw the purple, green and black hair first.

"Izzy?" He looked to her, realising he had hurt her.

"I'm so sorry." He moved to the side of the bed and slipped his glasses on, seeing the blush on her cheeks and realised the position they were in. Him in nothing but his underwear and her at his feet, her line of sight meeting his groin. She was looking up at him though, obviously not wanting to make him uncomfortable.

"It's ok, my butt might be a little tender but ah well." She got up slowly and stretched.

"What are you doing in here?" He questioned, slipping the sheet over his lap.

"I heard you and came in to check if you were ok. You had a nightmare?" She sat down beside him.

"Yes, I have them a lot... why are you up anyway?" He looked over to her.

"I'm an insomniac and frankly, it's hard enough sleeping in my own apartment, sleeping on here will be pretty much impossible for me." She looked over to him and he pushed his hair back, feeling very exposed.

"If you're having trouble with nightmares maybe you should try changing the environment you're sleeping in a little?" She suggested and he looked over, shifting uncomfortably as he thinks of her sharing his bed.

"And uh, how would you suggest I change my sleeping environment?" He looked over and she smiled, slipping off her headphones and placing them over his head, she fiddled with her mp3 player and set the music to easy listening.

"Try that and let me know how it goes in the morning, goodnight Bruce." With that she gave him a small peck on the cheek and left, wandering off to walk for a while in hopes off tiring herself out, leaving a blushing Bruce behind.

Bruce laid back down, listening to the soft music play in his ears, was this her coping mechanism? He watched her during the day and she had seemed so peaceful with her music on. The music was soft and relaxing, he allowed himself to close his eyes and let the music carry him off to sleep, no more nightmares bothered him that night.

Izzy walked about, carefully walking past the room she knew to hold Loki, he made her more nervous than Bruce ever did. By about 4 am she returned to her room and laid down to rest, drifting after a while if only for a couple of hours.

Morning came too early and an alarm went off to tell Bruce it was time to wake up, he sat up, the soft music still playing in his ears being drowned out by the annoying beeping. He turned off the alarm and took off the headphones, he'd need to return the mp3 player soon, she'd be missing it. He went about getting dressed and ready, fixing his hair as best he could, knowing it would be messy by the end of the day by constantly pushing his hands through it. He fixed his glasses and waited, Izzy had promised to collect him in time for breakfast.


	5. Chapter 5

After waiting ten minutes Bruce's stomach grumbled and he decided to go to her, her name would be marked on the outside of her door and she had mentioned that her room wasn't too far from his. He walked down the hall, reading all the names then returned and walked the otherway, he felt silly as he realised he had walked the wrong way first, her room was three doors down to the right. He pressed his thumb on the small scanner and the door opened, a little surprised he had clearance to open other's doors he stepped in, the room was the same as his but very different. Izzy's bag was scatted around the room, a laptop was on the table surrounded by papers with notes marked down, he knew this mess, it was the mess of a thinker, they surrounded themselves with an 'organised' mess and nested themselves into their work. He looked over the notes a little, impressed to find she had studied up on gamma radiation and seemed to have a good grasp on it despite her area of expertise being in tech. After his logical mind had examined the mess of notes, the emotional part of his brain finally triggered and told him to look over at the sleeping mess that was Izzy. She had another set of headphones on and he could hear music playing from them, the blankets were tangled around her legs and she wore the same singlet top from when she had come into his room, the track pants however were thrown to the floor and she now only wore bright green underwear on her bottom half. This made him blush deeply, he hated that colour but on her, it worked quite well. He sat down at the chair by the desk, she was out like a log, he knew she was an insomniac, so when she finally did get to sleep she probably slept as long as possible and was hard to wake. He sat the headphones and mp3 player she had given him down on her desk, deciding his hunger could wait a little longer, he felt too guilty waking her when she obviously needed the sleep. He turned to the desk after he realised he had looked at her bum for far too long, he saw that the laptop was still on, so she couldn't have been asleep long. He reasoned with himself that it was ok to look at it, hell, everyone on board had his file to read, even if she might have considered it an invasion of privacy, it was fair to find out more about her, right?

He looked through the laptop, peering over his shoulder from time to time to check that she was still asleep. He looked through a few folders, this was obviously her work laptop as the only thing personal about it was her wallpaper that was decorated with a picture that had kittens flying through the sky and an ocean beneath them that had an island made out of... ice cream? Well it certainly was a quirky notion, he smiled to himself. He looked through a few folders, only finding work files, interesting in their own right but he wanted to know more about her and he already knew she was intellegent.

"Having fun?" Her voice scared him, more so when he realised it came from beside his ear and he felt her lean against him some to look over his shoulder.

"I... I apologise, I came in to take you to breakfast and you were still asleep..." He cautiously looked back to see her face was dangerously close to his.

"It's fine, look all you want. I promise, I'm not silly enough to try to hide my porn stash on a SHIELD registered computer." She teased, making him blush.

"I should hope not..." He looked up to her with a soft smile.

"I'll get ready and we'll go get something to eat." She dug through her bag, fishing out her uniform before going into the bathroom and closing the door behind her. Less than ten minutes later she came out looking clean and crisp, all set for the day.

"Ready to go?" She asked, he got up and smiled. They walked together silently, it wasn't uncomfortable, it was pleasant for him, just having the company of a woman, he had to catch himself from thinking like that, he couldn't get comfortable in this situation. She was young and an agent of SHIELD, both of those things were bad for him, not to mention how easily he'd break her if he lost control.

They went into the mess hall, he watched her as they selected their food, she really did have a sweet tooth, she smothered her pancakes in syrup and picked out some fruit.

"I don't mean to pry but how exactly to you keep your teeth from rotting with all the sugar you put into your system?" He was surprised more as she got herself some chocolate milk, why they had it on a government ship, he did not know. She smiled over to him, a big, white toothy smile.

"You're a genius right? You should be able to work out SHILED has the best dental plan for it's employees, plus I'm a dedicated flosser, brusher and... gargle-er?" She smiled over as he chuckled.

"I'm sure that's a good thing." He smiled over.

"Are do you spit or swallow?" The voice of Tony Stark butted in as he pushed in between the two, the question making Bruce blush.

"With mouthwash? I spit of course. With other substances? Well that's my secret." She smiled, she was growing used to Tony's dirty humor.

"Ah I see, maybe Brucey here needs to do a little... eperimenting to see what you do with other substances." Tony grinned over, nudging a blushing Bruce.

"Tony..." He warned, it was embarassing enough that Tony questioned him in private but to now be playing a sadistic cupid was too much.

"What? I just love playing match maker. And let's face it, you need to keep your anger under control. Izzy, don't you think a good lay would keep Bruce here happy?" He smiled over to Izzy who rolled her eyes.

"Oh yes Tony, I'm sure it would. Come on Bruce, let's go to my room and test the strength of the bed because that's what Tony wants and we must always do what Tony wants." She said with heavy sarcasm, he knew she was just teasing Tony but it was still enough to make him blush. Grown men shouldn't blush he told himself, trying to control himself. Tony of course picked this up and grinned.

"See? He would love to break your bed with you." Tony stated and pointed to a now very embarassed Bruce.

"Bruce is a gentleman, he's merely embarassed to be associated with the likes of you." She smiled over to Tony, Bruce was glad she could direct the attention onto someone else instead of drawing more attention to himself. They all walked to an empty table, Tony merely getting himself a coffee. Izzy and Tony argued a little longer as Bruce tried to tune out, it embarassed him too much, especially hearing Izzy talk as much filth as Tony seemed to. He really didn't need her putting any mental images in his head.

"Alright, let's try it this way. What if the lovely doctor was about to rage out and the only thing that could stop him was you throwing yourself at him. Would you?" Tony asked, Bruce looked up a little from his food, he was a little curious about this. Did she fear the other guy enough to do that? She thought for a moment seriously before looking to Tony directly.

"No." She said simply, Tony looked irritated.

"No? You need to give more of an answer than that!" He groaned, she really did like torturing him.

"I wouldn't sleep with Bruce for that purpose. Maybe if it was a different reason, like, we got drunk and decided to fool around, but sleeping with him for the sake of stopping the other guy coming out, well, that kind of seems like I'd be manipulating him and that's kinda messed up. Besides, the other guy wouldn't hurt me because I'm awesome." She said with confidence, Bruce blushed a little as he stared at his eggs. So she didn't want to manipulate him but there was still a chance that she'd want to be with him for their own enjoyment. He wasn't really sure how the other guy would react to her, he felt something deep down that told him he liked her, did that mean the other guy liked her too? He chanced a glance over to her, studying her face and what he could see of her body, that little primal voice in the back of his head that he tried to ignore seemed pretty happy with her. He ate slowly, trying to forget his thoughts.

"Ah I see. Ok then, after we get the Tesseract back, we're going out. All the drinks are on me." Tony smiled over, nudging Bruce some as if to say he was doing a good job setting them up. If Bruce was to ever think about being close to a woman again, he would at least need a clear head to try to control himself when the time came.


	6. Chapter 6

Izzy and the two men returned to the lab, checking on the scanner that was searching for the Tesseract, all they could really do was wait. Tony leaned against the counter, playing with his phone again so Izzy sat with Bruce to talk, all things gamma. He seemed to come alive when he talked about his work, he of course avoided the painful topic involving the other guy. He also went on to talk about his work in India, she was impressed with him, even after hiding away from the world he still went to the trouble to help others.

Izzy decided to talk about her home, she was from Australia but was recruited to SHIELD straight out of university for she'd been living in America for a few years now, naturally Tony made his own attempt at an Australian accent, which he slaughtered brutally.

"G'day mate throw anoth'a snag on the barbie!" He called out happily, she rolled her eyes.

"You know Tony, the only people who talk like that back home are usually really country or bogan." She said, getting a funny looked from both men. She sighed.

"A bogan is like the Aussie version of a red neck." She explained as they understood.

"It's not really bad, just that most people's accents aren't that thick... or offensive." She mumbled before stretching out, Bruce couldn't help but notice her chest push out at the process and Tony couldn't help but notice Bruce watching said chest.

"So tell me, do Aussie girls do it better?" Tony teased, noticing the look Bruce gave him.

"I'm personally not that close to any other girls back home to know how they are in bed, so I can't say. I however, do everything better." She smiled playfully, making Bruce blush softly.

"Oh come on, all girls experiment during college, it's the same in university, right?" Tony asked, prying for more details, he was hoping for something juicy to use against Bruce.

"Hmm, well I'm a very affectionate drunk, so I've pecked a couple of girls but then, when I'm drunk I'd kiss everybody in the room if I felt like it. But it was always innocent though." Izzy admitted casually, she had no problems admitting to her behaviour, when drinking she was overly affectionate, she'd hug and kiss and admit to loving everyone nearby. She found that was probably more fun than one of those girls that get violent or overly depressed when they drank. However admitting that she had kissed other girls made Bruce go bright red.

"Ooh, we are definately drinking after all this." Tony grinned, nudging Bruce in the ribs.

"So what, you want to see me and the Black Widow make out?" Izzy said with a playful smile.

"Cause she really isn't my type." She teased.

"How could she not be your type?" Tony asked, yes Natasha was beautiful, she envied her a little.

"Well, for one thing, she has a vagina." Izzy stated blankly, the crude talk made Tony burst out laughing.

"Alright, alright, fair enough. We'll find someone more manly for you, but saying that, Natasha really does have quite the set of balls." He laughed, smacking Bruce on the shoulder. The dirty talk was halted as Steve Rogers came in, he and Tony clearly didn't get along.

"And what can we do for the good soldier?" Tony asked sarcastically, did Steve really get on his nerves that much.

"There's nothing you can do for me. I was merely walking by and thought I'd stop in and say hello to Izzy." He smiled over to her, she interested him. The coloured hair had drawn him in but hearing her stand up to Stark without any problem impressed him. He sought her companionship, her friendship. She smiled and came over to him.

"Well you're welcome to hang out in the lab if you've got nothing to do." She said politely, she still wasn't fully sure how to act around him, he was an old fashioned gentleman and she didn't want to offend him by saying anything too brash.

"I'd like that." He smiled, touching her hair gently. She felt a little like she was becoming a stressball to the Avengers. Steve looked calm as he fondled her hair, she looked over to Bruce who seemed to be becoming more agitated. That confused her. It wasn't long before Steve and Tony were fighting though, Tony had hinted out that he was breaking into the SHIELD system, she should have reported it but decided to leave it. SHIELD did seem a bit fishy getting Bruce on the team while actually wishing Tony stayed away when it was obvious that Bruce didn't want to come in. Steve stalked off after the fight, no doubt needing to walk off his anger. She touched Bruce's arm gently and felt him tense up.

"I really think those two just need to get a room and work out all that sexual tension." She whispered to him, breaking the awkward silence that had followed the fight as he laughed.

"You might be right, there's some big issues between those two." He whispered back, happy to have her beside him again instead of standing with Steve. The thought hit him that maybe Steve would be more suitable to her. While he was from another time, he was closer to her age, if you didn't count all the years he was frozen. He could protect her, not lose control with her. Bruce stepped away from her for a moment, looking to his feet. It wasn't long before her arm was around his shoulders.

"Are you ok?" She asked, her voice showing concern. He knew people didn't understand how he worked, he couldn't get too close. He'd push away the ones closest to him in order to protect them.

"I'm sorry, I just need a moment." He stepped out of the lab and walked down a hallway and then another and another. It wasn't long before he was lost and he allowed himself to relax a little. After this was over, he'd go somewhere far away. Izzy was a strong woman and now had ties to Stark, she'd be ok. He looked into the door he was passing, seeing inside the glass cell designed for him and inside that cell, Loki.

He took a breath and pressed his thumb to the scanner, stepping into the room. He ignored the gaurds who simply watched him as he walked up to the glass cell.

"Ah, well if it isn't the man who hides behind a beast." Loki smirked down to him. The god was much taller in stature, which made Bruce uncomfortable.


	7. Chapter 7

Loki stared down at Bruce, his gaze was powerful and intimidating but Bruce remembered the look he had given Izzy and refused to back down to a man like him. Bruce stared up at the god, trying to read him. Loki only managed to chuckle.

"Unfortunately my friend, in this state you do not have such a strong effect on me." Loki spoke deeply, he was amused by the situation and that only furthered to agitate Bruce.

"I am not your friend." He replied.

"I see, then why did you care to visit me?" Loki questioned with a small smirk playing on his lips. Bruce honestly didn't know why he had ended up there so he answered in silence.

"Tell me doctor as I'm curious, does that little lab rat of yours take care of _all_ your needs?" The grin on Loki's face was twisted and it made Bruce growl a little in anger, this was all it took for Loki to know he had pushed his buttons.

"Ah, so she won't hmm? Well I suppose all women fear getting close to you. It's no surprise really." Bruce could handle Tony and his teasing but Loki's intentions were something else entirely. He turned to leave, hearing Loki chuckle behind him.

"Maybe I should try my hand with the woman when this is all done. Afterall, who can resist a god?" It was too much, Bruce got himself out of the room as quickly as possible and tried to control his breathing. He could not let Loki get to him. He walked quickly back to the lab, Izzy and Tony would be play fighting and that would relax him.

When he returned to the lab it was something else entirely, he walked in and stood beside Izzy who instantly took his arm. They were all there and it didn't take long to find out what was happening, SHIELD had designed weapons to be used with the Tesseract. Everyone was fighting, Natasha was trying to keep Bruce out of it but he couldn't stop himself. He said something he shouldn't, admitting to trying to kill himself. He felt Izzy squeeze his arm a little tighter at that. She was silent, not used to being around so many powerful men fighting and also in shock about the weapons herself. It was obvious she had been left out on that little side note. Everything became too much, by the time he was ready to break Loki's staff was in his hand. Within a second everything fell apart, something attacked the Helicarrier. The floor beneath him gaveway and he fell through it along with Natasha and Izzy.

Izzy landed with a hard thud, crying out in pain. She registered the situation, it was dark and something was beneath her. She looked down and found Bruce had pulled her over him to keep her from getting too hurt, he was groaning out in pain but it sounded different, animalistic. She looked over to the side and saw Natasha trying to free her leg, she moved over to try and help her. When Bruce's groaning and heavy breathing grew louder both girls looked over, his skin was turning to green.

"Bruce?" She whispered, she wasn't sure what she could do to calm him. She knew Bruce was uncomfortable with talking about the other guy so she never questioned him. In this moment she regretted that, if she just had some idea on how to help then she would. She reached over to touch him but was hauled up by Natasha and dragged away. Natasha was under the belief that she was protecting Izzy, what she failed to realise was that she had only proven to build the raging anger of the Hulk.

Growing large and green, his shirt tore off and his pants struggled. He looked around, the red head had taken Izzy away. He roared out in anger and charged, running in the direction she had taken her. He looked around, fury building as he threw crates out of the way to find nothing.

Natasha held Izzy to her behind one of the large pipes. She tried to keep Izzy quiet, she knew Bruce was fond of the girl and that he would be more depressed if he ended up hurting her. She relaxed a little when she heard Hulk go silent, only to gasp when the pipe hiding them was ripped out from the floor. Hulk roared in anger seeing Izzy being held by the other woman. Natasha pulled them both up and placed herself infront of Izzy. This was a mistake. Hulk let fly with one hand and flicked Natasha to the opposite side of the room and into the wall with ease. He grabbed Izzy up with one arm and looked over to Natasha who was on the floor. He roared out and held Izzy up towards Natasha.

"Mine!" He yelled out to make it clear Izzy was not to be taken from him. With that he stomped off to find somewhere quiet away from the red head, he would not risk Izzy being taken again. He had crushed a door in to get into a small storage room where he sat with a loud thud, holding Izzy in his lap he looked down to her.

"Hulk." He said, pointing to himself as an introduction. She smiled softly up to him, knowing he didn't mean her harm.

"Izzy." She said, offering her small hand. Hulk inspected it for a moment before offering his pinky finger, it was still too big for her hand. She placed her hand over the pinky and made a small shaking movement. Hulk smiled.

"Hulk keep safe." He said as she looked up to him, she understood and gave a smile. He rubbed a finger over her head gently, Bruce hadn't the nerve to touch her hair but Hulk was free to do what he wanted. Izzy relaxed a little, hoping this was calming him. She briefly thought of their joke about using her breasts to calm the Hulk but seemed to think right now it would have the opposite effect and she really didn't need a giant unstoppable man coming onto her. Hulk let out a soft sigh and looked down to _his_ Izzy.

"No more blonde man." He said, he wasn't one for talking a lot and found it difficult. Izzy looked up to him, confused. The only blonde man that had been near her in the past two days was Steve.

"Steve?" She questioned.

"No let him touch you." Hulk said as if it were obvious.

"You Hulk's now." He said simply, squeezing her to him but remembering humans weren't to be squeezed too hard.

"Oh am I?" She smiled up to him, if a normal man had said she belonged to him she would be angry but the Hulk was a different case.

"You make Bruce happy. You make Hulk happy. You Hulk's and Bruce's. We share." He smiled down to her, rubbing his fingertip against her cheek. He liked the feel of her skin but there wasn't much of it. Without a second thought he pushed her shirt up and rubbed his finger over the smooth skin of her belly. This relaxed him greatly and within a few moments he began to shrink. Izzy moved up and watched. She had to take a few steps back to give him room. Not much time had passed before Bruce lay before her, out cold and in now rather baggy and worn pants.

She looked over to Bruce and decided he would need new clothes. He would be ok there, it was away from the fighting. So she headed off carefully to go to his room and fetch him some clothes. She had imagined meeting the Hulk would be a terrifying experience, that he would likely hurt her and she would end up badly wounded. But it was something completely different. From what she read, Bruce kept his core emotions bottled up, like rage but was it possible there were also positive emotions being kept inside him that only the Hulk could let out? Did Bruce really want her and his own or was that just the Hulk? She could work that out later, right now she needed to focus on navigating a chaotic carrier in order to get to his room.

**Author's note: Yay, the Hulk is here! I must say I'm not too sure on writing him, he is essentially primal thoughts and feelings so I was unsure how much he could actually talk before it would be out of character. Thoughts?**


	8. Chapter 8

Izzy slipped out of Bruce's room with a small bundle of clean clothes in her arms. She naturally had to pick out his purple shirt, it was her favorite colour afterall. She carefully made her way down the hallways, heading towards the storage room she had left Bruce. She arrived and looked around, Bruce was gone. She started to backtrack, looking to where he might be. When the Helicarrier gave a violent shake she fell back into a few empty crates, the wood breaking against her back as she lay in a pile on the floor. The Helicarrier moved again, knocking not so empty boxes onto her. She struggled until it was all too clear that she was stuck. She stayed still, moving had only caused more boxes to fall. She wasn't sure how much time had passed but it was moving slowly so she closed her eyes.

Bruce dressed himself and looked everywhere for Izzy, what had happened? His memory was still foggy, he remembered falling and then things got fuzzy. He would remember in time but right now he was too worried to sit and collect his thoughts. It wasn't long before he was found by an agent and escorted to the meeting room. Tony greeted him with a smile, he was sitting with Steve and that was strange. He took a seat, looking around to see Fury, Natasha, Thor and the other two. But Izzy was not there.

"I'm sorry, I lost control." He spoke softly, looking down.

"Actually you did very little damage." Fury said calmly.

"Speak for yourself." Natasha said, giving him a look.

"I hurt you?" He asked, looking over.

"Threw me against a wall before grabbing Izzy and running off with her. You were pretty pissed that I was trying to keep her away from you." She said and Bruce's thoughts went into overdrive.

"Where is she? What did I do?" He asked quickly, no one seemed to know. Fury put a hand up to stop the commotion as he pressed his hand to his ear, speaking into the hidden communicator.

"Agent Jones, report." He spoke in a commanding voice, all their communicators picked up on his words. A few minutes passed and nothing before they all heard a soft voice and Bruce was flushed with relief.

"Whoever pilots this thing is an asshole." Her soft but cutting voice said.

"That's all well and good but I need you in the meeting room now." Fury spoke.

"Sorry Nick, I'm a little busy right now... well not so much busy but stuck under a pile of rubble and my weak girly arms can't break myself out." Bruce began to panic again.

"Are you injured? What's your location, the nearest agents are to respond to your aid." He spoke.

"Not injured... except maybe my pride. I believe I'm in storage room 7B. But I'll make sure to make a little noise and give them some direction to me. Be there in five." That was the last they heard and Bruce started wondering how she would react to him, did she fear him now?

Ten minutes passed and a sore looking Izzy finally limped into the room, giving a soft smile. She made her way over to the seat beside Bruce, sitting down without a problem.

"I'm sorry." He whispered, looking to her in desperation. She looked confused before smiling.

"Nothing to be sorry for." She said with a shrug of her shoulders. Everyone was interested now.

"What did the big guy do to you then? Did your theory on boobs work?" Tony commented, earning a few looks. She could only smile.

"My boobs were not needed. We had a lovely little chat and are now good friends, he didn't hurt me at all. After you turned back I went to get you some clothes and was on my way back when the carrier moved about a bit, I got knocked around and ended up under a pile of crap." She said, mostly to Bruce to assure him she was fine.

"You had a chat?" He questioned, Hulk wasn't one to talk. Izzy gave a small nod.

"I'll tell you about it later." She said softly, not thinking Bruce would want everyone knowing.

"You can't leave it at that!" Tony added in, wanting to know the full story.

"Is it about how he said you belonged to him? Cause he made that pretty clear..." Natasha added in, making everyone look in wonder.

"Kind of, yeah. Oh yeah Steve, Hulk doesn't like you touching me so um, I wouldn't if I were you." She smiled over to the Captain who shifted uncomfortably.

"I'm sorry Bruce, I didn't know what I was doing offended you." He spoke to Bruce who only seemed to look embarassed. He gave a nod and excused himself, subtley signalling Izzy to follow. He needed answers.

Izzy followed Bruce out into the hallway where he turned to face her. She smiled softly to him.

"Whatever he did to you..." He started, Izzy placed a hand up to stop him.

"He did nothing wrong to me. He was actually quite gentle..." Izzy spoke softly looking off to the side.

"He is not gentle." Bruce looked to her.

"He was with me. Said I made you both happy and so the two of you would share me?" She smiled over to him, Bruce looked beyond embarassed.

"Oh yeah, then he rubbed my belly." He couldn't bare to look at her, his cheeks bright red.

"I'm sorry..." He whispered, looking up as he felt her hand taking his.

"Don't apologise, it was kind of fun getting to meet the big guy." She carefully took his chin, guiding it up for him to look at her.

"Oh, I forgot, you're clothes... I'd went to get you some and then was covered with the crates... they'd be be ruined now." She looked so sad, he had to smile.

"I ruin my clothes too, nothing to worry about." He smiled, feeling embarassed with her hands still on him.

"Still, I liked that shirt. I'll find you a new one next time I'm back on land." She smiled, looking into his eyes. They shared a small, warm moment until Tony came up behind them.

"Ooh, I guess the Hulk is a pretty good match maker huh?" He teased, slapping them both on the back.

"Better than you are." Izzy smiled over to him, making Bruce blush.

"Well then, cudos to Hulk. Now, the Helicarrier needs to be taken for repairs so I've generously decided to invite all the Avengers and little Izzy here to join me in Stark tower. We need a club house right?" He grinned.

"The Avengers?" Bruce asked, he had missed that part by taking Izzy to talk.

"Yep buddy, you're now officially one of the superheroes. We're all teaming up to stop Loki." He grinned, leading them down the hallway.

"So pack your gear and meet me on deck when we land." With that he walked off to do his own tasks. Bruce and Izzy walked back to their rooms, planning to meet up after packing. Living with Tony? It was bound to be a bad idea.


	9. Chapter 9

Izzy sat in the helicopter beside Bruce. Tony, Steve, Natasha and Thor were all there. Clint would also be joining them after he was cleared by the SHIELD medical team. She wondered what it would be like at Stark tower, knowing Tony it would be flashy and over the top. She saw the tower as they approached, Tony had his own landing pad which didn't surprise Izzy one bit.

They landed and headed inside quickly. The place was an oversized bachelor pad. Izzy knew Tony had a few mansions but this must be his current favorite as it was a giant symbol of his power. They all stood in the lounge/bar area and waited as Tony personally escorted everyone to their rooms, most likely giving a tour along the way and expecting praise for his money. Izzy intended on giving no praise, he really didn't need a bigger ego. He returned from showing Thor to his room, now it was only Izzy and Bruce left, he smiled to them.

"Now I'm afraid we only have four guest bedrooms here, this place is only the top floor afterall, the rest of the building is used for business. Thor and Steve have their rooms. Natasha has agreed to share with Clint when he arrives and that only leaves one bedroom left." Tony smirked, wiggling his eyebrows a little in amusement at Bruce's embarassed expression.

"With all your money, you still have to make your guests share a room?" Izzy commented.

"I don't think it would be a good idea for us to share." Bruce commented, he couldn't trust himself with Izzy.

"Well if you don't want to share with her, I'm sure Steve would be happy to let her share with him." Tony teased, instantly Bruce felt his stomach twist.

"She'll be fine in my room." He said softly, giving Tony a look that actually made him keep his mouth shut. Tony turned and lead them down down the hallway. Pointing out the other guest rooms and the large bathroom which was to be shared. Izzy was glad that there were mostly men to share the bathroom with, thinking if there were more women she'd never get a chance to use it. Tony stopped infront of the last door, opening it for them.

"This is the largest of the rooms. Cause you know, if you guys want to get the big guy involved and have yourself a little love triangle you'll need the space." Tony grinned, getting a look from both of them.

"We're all meeting back in the lounge room in an hour to discuss dinner plans. Unpack and enjoy!" Tony pushed them both into the room and closed the door. Bruce glanced around the room; a nice view, flat screen on the wall, couch, desk, king sized bed. He stared at the bed... only one bed. A large bed but they would still need to share, he blushed softly and pushed his glasses up. The bed situation didn't seem to bother Izzy as she went over and flopped onto one side, stretching out.

"This is my side. It's claimed and you can't have it." She said up to him with a smile. He gave a nod and sat his bag down as he moved over slowly, cautiously sitting on the edge of the bed.

"You're ok with this?" He asked.

"If I have to share a bed you're the best choice." She said simply, he blushed deeply.

"I'm the best choice? I find that hard to believe." He looked over. She pushed herself up on her elbows to look at him better.

"You are. Tony is a pervert. Thor I don't know well. Natasha is kinda deadly and Steve would be a gentleman but somehow I don't think Hulk would approve." She smiled over. She wasn't wrong.

"Speaking of Hulk..." She looked over, he swallowed hard. He knew he owed her some answers but he was scared of what she would ask.

"Did you get your memory back from the attack?" She asked, that was simple enough. He blushed softly and gave a nod, remembering touching her as the Hulk. It wasn't sexual but it still felt... good.

"I do. I'm surprised at how easily you calmed me." He looked over.

"I didn't really do anything." She shrugged.

"You let him get close. Most people fear him and see him as a monster... I wouldn't have blamed you if you had run..." He knew it would have hurt him though. She sat up and crawled over to him, flopping down on her belly to lay by him. She placed a hand over his gently.

"I don't see him as a monster. He's kind of intimidating though, I don't really meet giant green men often." She smiled and he gave a soft laugh, examining her small hand over his.

"I've read your files afterall, I know you hold your emotions in and that the Hulk grants you the freedom to get them out. I also know that it doesn't exactly go to plan most of the time. Bottle up anger too much and then the bottle will explode." She looked up to him.

"That sounds about right." He spoke softly, looking down into her eyes for just a moment.

"You know, you don't have to hide your emotions from me. I'm pretty laid back, I'm not going to cause a lot of drama... just don't let me go through a sugar crash." She smiled up to him. He gave a soft smile, this conversation was getting too serious for him. She got up and hugged into him from behind, placing a soft kiss on his neck, he shivered a little.

"I won't push you though. I don't know what it's like to have the other guy so I don't know how hard it is for you. I also don't know what it must have been like to feel like you have to isolate yourself from everyone. Just know that I'm here for you if you need me, for any reason." With that she got up and walked over to her bag, unpacking her things and making the room look a little more lived in. He watched her silently in thought. She was there for him but what did she want out of their relationship. Friendship or something more? And if she was there for him for any reason, did that include selfish reasons? Would she be there for him if he needed to shout and rant to get his anger out? Would she be there for him in the middle of the night if he ever decided he needed a woman's touch?

He pondered all the meanings that came with her words before getting up to unpack his own bag. He didn't have much, a few sets of clothes, toiletries and two spare sets of glasses. It was three spare sets before his transformation earlier. He looked over his things and realised once again, no pajamas.


	10. Chapter 10

The Avengers and Izzy all sat in the lounge room after they had unpacked. Tony was trying to suggest a house party to celebrate his new 'roomies' and it wasn't going well. Instead the others focused on what to do for dinner. With such a large group it was foolish to try to cook now, maybe if they prepared and could do something in bulk. They were going over the take out options. After a long debate they decided on pizza, they could all pick their own. Thor of course might need a few. Tony placed the order and went over to the bar, not happy about his lack of party but wasn't going to give up yet. Casually he brought over a drinks and slipped a large glass into Izzy's hand with a grin.

"It's sweet so you'll like it." He tried his best innocent smile, Izzy was all too aware of what he was doing but took a drink anyway.

"Not bad. Melon liquer?" She questioned.

"And lemonade." He knew of her sweet tooth so he knew he'd get her to drink more if it was simple and full of sugar. He then offered Bruce a glass of scotch.

"It's a good year, I assure you." He pushed it into Bruce's hand before he could refuse. He quickly went about picking out drinks for everyone as they waited for the pizza. Bruce looked to Izzy and took a small drink. Only one glass and no more, he wouldn't allow himself to lose control. It was only their first night in this house and he had no idea how long they would be there.

It wasn't long before the pizza's had arrived and everyone tucked in. Thor happily ate all he could. Bruce watched Izzy eat, just plain cheese pizza. She took surprisingly small bites, which he found cute. He wouldn't admit that to himself though. Tony casually slipped some background music on as they were eating. He danced around and tried to get everyone into the mood. No one was budging.

"Seriously Tony, it's been a long day and no one is in the mood to party. We lost a good agent and Loki got away. Sit your ass down and stop being a fool." Izzy snapped, everyone looked a little surprised by her. Tony walked over and gave a big smile, taking her hand and pulling her up with ease.

"I'll sit my ass down after I've seen you move yours." He teased, pulling her close to him and swaying around too slowly to a fast beat song. He glanced over to a glaring Bruce. Bruce could handle Tony teasing but he didn't like this hands on her.

"Of course, I would be more than happy to let you move your ass with Bruce." He smiled over.

"I don't dance..." Bruce said quietly.

"Oh well, more Izzy for me." Tony grinned, sliding his hand down towards her bum. Bruce saw this and was quickly on his feet. He pulled Tony away and quickly took her gently in his arms.

"Maybe one dance won't hurt." He said softly. Tony wolf whistled before returning to the couch. Bruce blushed deeply and they swayed around infront of the others. It was made pretty clear that neither were good at dancing as they followed their own beat instead of the song. No one could deny that the two looked cute together though.

The night ended too quickly for Tony's liking as everyone end to their rooms. He at least got them to dance and they'd both finished their drinks. His plan to get them together would take longer than he thought but it would be fun.

The bathroom seemed to be the place to be for everyone to clean and wash before bed. It took a while for Izzy and Bruce to be able to clean their teeth. What made things awkward for Bruce was that sharing a bathroom meant Izzy couldn't just go in there quickly to change. So instead she stood to the side to get changed while Bruce stripped to his underwear. He couldn't resist glancing over to her, spotting her mid change to see her underwear and bare back while she pulled a baggy tshirt on. She turned and came over, crawling in her side of the bed.

"I promise, I'm going to try to sleep like a normal person so I won't bother you." She looked up to him. He slipped into bed and under the covers.

"It's alright... I'm get pajamas tomorrow." He said awkwardly. She only gave a shrug.

"I'm not really one for conventional jammies either. I like my legs free. So whatever is comfortable for you." She said, snuggling into the covers more and giving a yawn.

"After all the commotion today and being kinda sore, I think I'm tired for once." She smiled over to him, turning the lamp off beside the bed.

"Get some sleep then. Goodnight Izzy." He spoke softly in the dark, removing his glasses and setting them on the bedside table.

"Goodnight Bruce." She leaned over and kissed the side of his mouth, he blushed deeply. He could only assume she had meant to kiss his cheek. With that he closed his eyes and allowed himself to sleep. Izzy laid awake, she looked over to the sleeping form of Bruce. Her eyes had adjusted to the dark a little better. She scooted over closer to him and after a while of waiting, sleep took her.

Bruce woke early and felt warmth against him. He slipped his glasses on carefully and saw that he and Izzy were very, very close. She was snuggled up to him and his arm was beneath her head. It was far too comfortable and he realised he hadn't had any bad dreams. He could smell her and feel every one of her curves against him. He shivered a little. He carefully shifted himself until he could get out of bed. He looked down and was thankful it was still very early. He needed a cold shower right away. He quickly grabbed some clothes and opened his door. Once in the hallway he crept down to the bathroom and tried to open the door. It was locked. Damn. He needed a shower now. He held his clothes infront of him and knocked on the door. After a few minutes Steve opened the door with a towel around himself.

"Morning Bruce." He smiled politely. Bruce felt very inadequate. Steve was tall, well built, blonde and young. Well, officially he was old but to everyone that knew him he was in his twenties. Bruce knew he meant no harm but he couldn't help feeling less when Izzy could have someone like Steve. Steve was different but in a more stable way than Bruce too which meant he could protect Izzy and not risk hurting her. Bruce's insides twisted. Seeing Steve worked almost as well as a cold shower did.

"Morning." He said softly, slipping into the bathroom as Steve headed down to his room. Bruce could only hope that Izzy wouldn't see Steve in that state while they were living together. He really didn't want to see her react to the man most women would love to be with.

After a cold shower he went to cook some breakfast. Steve was already there and eating some toast. Why did he have to be left alone with Steve? It was very awkward. It wasn't long before everyone else arrived, Izzy woke not long after him and apparently got to shower quickly. She came out and found some sugar filled cereal. Eating slowly she looked around and smiled softly.

"Does anyone want to come shopping today? I need to get some clothes. And possibly some Lucky Charms that aren't stale." She pointed a glance over to Tony.

"I don't eat them often. But I'll tell you what, we're going to need a lot of food so I'm going to give you one of my cards for you to go shopping with." Tony smiled over his coffee.

"Ooh, trusting me with your money. I might go car shopping." She teased.

"Go ahead pet, I'd be happy to be your sugar daddy." He grinned.

"Seriously though, we'll need lots of meat for Thor and uh, chick products for you and old red. Anyone else want any food in specific?" He asked around.

"I wouldn't mind seeing a modern supermarket, see if there's any foods I reconside." Steve added in.

"Good, you can help carry the bags then." Izzy said with a smile. Bruce didn't like it but Steve had beaten him to it, he couldn't join in now.

"I do need some shampoo." Natasha added over, telling Izzy her brand. Izzy began a small list. Before long Steve and Izzy were off to shop and Bruce was left feeling alone and jealous, it was all too obvious as he skulked around the house.

"Bruce, buddy. Come see my labs, you'll love them." Tony threw an arm around the doctor's shoulders and lead him over to the elevator.

"And don't worry about those two. She's sleeping in your bed, that should be an obvious sign which man comes first to her." He grinned.

"And what if she's just trying to keep Hulk happy?" Bruce asked, he didn't mean to sound whiny but something about Steve threw him off. It was jealousy really, Bruce was insecure and the perfect soldier made those insecurities stand out far too much.

The labs were impressive and did help him but his mind was on Izzy. What was she doing out there with Steve?

**Author's note: Nothing really to report, just wanted your opinions. Do you think Bruce is a boxers or briefs man? ;)**


	11. Chapter 11

Izzy and Steve walked through the mall, she had made a few purchases with Steve so far. All courtesy of Tony of course. Steve was happy to eat a giant pretzel while Izzy looked through a men's clothing store. She promised Bruce she'd get him a new shirt and she wanted to. She picked out a few in his style, making sure to pick one in purple. Steve was full of questions, he knew Izzy wasn't one to judge so felt free to ask anything he thought might be silly to someone else. She tried her best to answer every question, knowing some questions could be better answered by someone older or American. She wasn't quite caught up on all the American sayings herself so sometimes she got confused.

After doing their shopping they went to the supermarket. She was glad Steve wasn't reconised as Captain America. He was obsessed with looking through all the shelves. He acted like a child when he discovered Heinz and Campbell's foods still existed, insisting he needed as much as possible. Izzy watched as he piled the cart full of canned soups, spaghetti and baked beans. She compared him a lot to when she had first moved to America and found it hard finding some of her favorite foods. Vegemite for one, that was impossible to find but when she found a specialty store that stocked it she went crazy. She watched and realised just how difficult it must be, waking up to a whole new world without anyone or anything. To see him clinging to a can of tomato soup so tightly, she actually felt the need to cry. She quickly ushered him on, unable to dwell on how painful it must be. Introducing him to her favorite candy and anything else that would make him smile. By the end of their shop they had two carts filled with everything they could need. Izzy made sure to get extras of the basics; bread, milk and toilet paper. She was glad Tony was a billionare as their total was very high.

Arriving home she was grateful when Thor came down to help carry bags up. When everything was finally set on the large dining room table by the kitchen the men all moved around like pidgeons.

"Right, everyone get away!" She snapped, she came from a large family and knew it would all end up in ruins if they all just started helping themselves. They all moved off to the side.

"Now, which of you are actually organised and willing to help put this stuff away properly?" She asked. Natasha had her shampoo so was no longer interested, she had already gone off to her room. All that was left were the men and they all looked quite useless when it came to this area. Bruce saw his chance and stepped forward with a soft smile to help.

"No, you can't help." She said firmly, he wondered what he had done. She moved over and grabbed a bag, bringing it over and placing it in his hands.

"You have to try these on instead. I had to guess your size so I hope it's all ok." She smiled up as he inspected the bag of shirts.

"You didn't have to get me these." He smiled down to her. Even with Steve beside her, she had thought of him.

"I told you I would so I did." She smiled.

"Ooh, already picking clothes out for him huh?" Tony made a playful whipping noise.

"Bugger off Tony, I was just being nice." She snapped at him.

"Oh yes, but you didn't think to get clothes for the one man here who actually needs them?" He asked, pointing to Thor who had spent the past few days in his battle armor. Izzy smiled happily.

"Actually, Steve thought of Thor." Izzy replied smugly, finding the bag for Steve who handed it to Thor.

"My thanks." Thor replied, looking through the bag.

"No problem, I knew we'd both need clothes." Steve smiled softly.

Somehow after everything was said and done, it was Tony who got stuck helping put everything away. He was left with the job of finding a way to fit everything in the fridge and freezer. His solution? Having a second fridge delivered within the hour.

"Why the hell do we have twelve cans of baked beans?" Tony called over as Izzy prepared sandwiches for lunch.

"Steve wanted them. Heinz and Campbell's were the only things he seemed to reconise. There were a few other brands he spotted but he said they had changed their products. Kind of sad really..." She looked over to Tony seriously.

"He's a looker, he'll find some girl to take his mind off it. You need to be worrying about Brucey." Tony replied, knowing how quickly Bruce was becoming possessive of Izzy.

"I don't need to worry about Bruce, he's got me to look after him." She smiled.

"Oh does he? And do you take care of all his needs?" Tony smirked.

"Take care of who's needs?" Bruce stepped in, smiling shyly in his new yellow shirt.

"Oh it looks so nice on you, I thought that shade would work." She came over to inspect him, making him blush.

"Oh yes Bruce, you look so cute." Tony added in, getting the dish towel thrown at him.

"And we were discussing whether or not Izzy takes care of all your needs." Tony smiled over to Bruce. That same question was asked to him by Loki and it made him furious. In this case he could handle it.

"Drop it Tony. Jarvis would you please let everyone know that lunch is ready." Izzy said, taking a platter of sandwiches over to the table along with a few large bowels of chips. She was hoping it would be enough but with so many men it would be hard judging how much they could eat. She had two brothers and both were bottomless pits. Soon the table was full and everyone was digging in. Bruce sat beside Izzy, shooting a few hidden glares at Steve who spoke to her a little too much.

"Oh yeah, Natasha. Could you help me dye my hair tonight?" She asked with a large smile.

"Sure, what colours are you doing now?" She smiled over from behind a sandwich.

"Maroon with purple highlights." She grinned.

"Tell me pet, does the carpet match the drapes?" Tony grinned.

"That's for me to know and-" She was cut off by Tony.

"And for Bruce to find out."


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's note: So there may be a little bit of relationship development in this one. And thanks for all the reviews, it's agreed Bruce is a boxers man! While I'm sure we'd all love him in some tighty whities, a reviewer made a good point that when he changes into the Hulk he would need something loose.**

A few long hours after dinner later, Izzy and Natasha returned from the bathroom and walked out to the lounge room. She was very happy with her new hair. The highlights worked wonderfully with the deep maroon shade. The girls walked out to see the guys watching an action movie, they all looked up.

"Very nice." Tony smiled playfully.

"Your Midgardian magic of the hair impresses me." Thor grinned up, still not quite understanding the concept of hair dye.

"It is amazing." Steve said, getting up to come and touch her hair. He'd already forgotten about the Hulk's warning. She looked over to Bruce who was stuck between anger and awkwardness. He hated Steve touching her but she looked so pretty with the new hair, he felt conflicted. Because of this he had waited too long to give a compliment and missed his chance. Sometimes he wished he could be more assertive like Tony. He felt the touch move as she sat down beside him. Everyone getting back into the movie.

"You like it don't you?" She whispered to him softly, he smiled and gave a quick nod.

"It's beautiful." He smiled softly, carefully raising a hand to stroke her hair. This was the first time he touched her hair, he remembered touching it as Hulk but this was different.

"Get a room!" Tony called out, making everyone look at the pair. Bruce blushed deeply.

"Fine, we will." Izzy said simply, getting up and pulling Bruce by the hand.

"Goodnight everyone!" She called out as she dragged Bruce down the hallway, they all called their goodnights back while Tony called out to have fun. Once in the hallway Izzy spoke softly.

"I hope you weren't too into that movie." She smiled over.

"Not really, I've seen it a few times already." He said softly, unsure what they were actually going to do until they were ready to sleep. They both took turns in the bathroom and Bruce once again glanced over as Izzy changed in their room. They were sharing a room and a bed, she saw no point in being bashful about it. She then flicked the tv on and flipped through the channels to find what would be good.

"Tony has a disturbingly large amount of porn channels that are unlocked." She commented as she got comfy on the bed. Bruce laid down beside her, the both of them propped up by the pillows to watch tv.

"Does that come as a surprise?" He looked over.

"Well, no." She laughed softly, picking out a random movie.

"He did it again tonight..." Bruce spoke softly. Izzy looked over.

"Who did what again?" She questioned.

"Steve touched your hair..." He said, feeling ashamed of himself for being jealous over something so small.

"I only mention it because Hulk doesn't like it..." He looked up to her. She gave him a pointed look.

"Only the Hulk?" She raised an eyebrow, he did need a little pushing sometimes.

"Maybe I didn't like it either..." He whispered, not daring to look at her now.

"I think he only did it because it was new. You have to remember stuff like this it completely strange to him. But if he does it again I'll remind him not to." She explained, leaning against him a little.

"It doesn't really help that you spent so much time with him today..." Bruce spoke softly, she didn't judge him for being jealous so he had to try opening up a little more.

"He offered first. You know I don't really see Steve in that way anyway." She replied simply.

"You don't? But he's so..." Bruce looked down, feeling her hand slide over his.

"He's nice and kind of handsome but I really could never look at him in a romantic way." She said honestly. It was obvious he was good looking and she thought lying about it would only offend Bruce more.

"Why not?" Bruce pressed, he wanted some reassurance.

"Well, I'm pretty sure he's a virgin and he's completely out of touch with the world so sometimes he says really strange things. I want to be his friend and help him but that's all. To put it simply, he's not my type. Besides, I already like you." She smiled over to him, his cheeks went red.

"You do?" He glanced over.

"Isn't it obvious? I don't jump into bed with everyone you know." She teased.

"Even with the age difference and Hulk?" He asked, feeling his heart rate speed up already.

"The age doesn't bother me. It's not like you're some creepy guy that often goes after young women. We get along and I think it just kind of works between us. And the Hulk and I are buds, I have no issues with him." She smiled, looking over.

"No issues at all?" He pushed.

"Nope, I mean I can't honestly see a love triangle happening but I'm sure he'd be happy to watch." She smiled playfully, making his cheeks burn.

"You know anything involved with me is going to be... complicated." He looked to her seriously.

"That's ok, I'm actually pretty easy so complicated will make things more fun." She smiled, touching his cheek.

"I work for SHIELD, I deal with complicated on a daily basis. And you are far less complicated than you think, mostly you just seem to like to punish yourself." She pressed a soft kiss to his lips. It sent a spark through him and he grabbed her arms quickly to push her away, staring intently into her eyes.

"Are you sure?" He looked to her seriously.

"Yes, give yourself a break Bruce." She said softly, pushing forward to kiss him again. This time he gave in, pushing his fingers into her hair and deepening the kiss.

Bruce woke the next morning, smiling at the warmth against him. They had made out a little before he felt it was too much. It wasn't much for a regular person but for him it was enough to make him feel alive again. He got up slowly and let Izzy sleep, she stayed up late watching tv while he slept. He looked down and sighed. Time for another cold shower.


	13. Chapter 13

**Author's note: Naked Thor, naked Hulk and naked Bruce in this one!**

Bruce stepped out of the bathroom and smiled to himself. He would cook breakfast for Izzy and deliver it to her while she was still in bed, she'd like that. He went into the kitchen and hummed softly to himself as he started cooking. Bruce didn't like cooking, it usually lead to burns and frustration and he was feeling it now. Unaware of Tony watching him.

"You're in a very good mood today." Tony grinned, there was only one thing that could light a man up like that.

"I slept well." Bruce lied, he wasn't going to give any details to Tony before he had to.

"Slept well on top of a naked Izzy?" Tony grinned wider.

"No." Bruce looked over, trying to give Tony a look that tells him to drop it. Tony wasn't easily intimidated though.

"Oooh, under a naked Izzy. Lucky boy." Tony laughed before hearing a loud shout that was distinctively Izzy. Both men dropped what they were doing to run into the hallway.

Izzy woke with the strong urge for the bathroom. She grumbled and forced herself up, she was far too comfy to wake. Sleepily she walked over to the bathroom, trying to open the door to find it locked. She sighed and banged on the door loudly.

"Hurry up in there, I need to pee!" She called out. She stepped back as she heard the door unlocking. It opened to reveal a very naked Thor. He was obviously not bashful.

"My apologies, I shall wait here while you use the facilities." He said to her, making no attempt to cover himself. He considered these people his fellow warriors and he hid nothing from his fellow warriors. Sif had seen him change plenty of times and had no problem with it.

"Jesus christ!" She shouted out, not really knowing how else to respond. Within a moment Tony and Bruce were down one end of the hallway while Steve poked his head out of his room. Natasha had gone to collect Clint.

Bruce stared at the current scene; a naked god standing infront of Izzy who was bright red and still in only a tshirt and underwear. If he took the time to think about it he would know that it was a simple misunderstanding. But he didn't have time to think because in an instant he snapped. Everyone looked in horror as Bruce groaned out and his skin went green. He grew out of his new shirt and his pants strained and streched. Within a moment the Hulk stood before them. He didn't seem overly angry, just annoyed. He walked down the now small hallway and stopped infront of Thor and Izzy. Hulk stared down at Thor who was now feeling very exposed. Izzy knew she had to step in. She moved up to Hulk and placed her hand on his large fist.

"Hulk, it's ok. Thor's just an idiot." She didn't want to offend Thor but it was easier for her to insult him than for Hulk to put him through a wall. Hulk looked down to her and slipped his hand behind her, pulling her into him. He didn't seem at all bothered that he had practically shoved her into his groin area. He then returned his gaze to Thor. He lashed out and punched Thor back down the hallway and through a door. He then pointed a very obvious glare at Steve who quickly retreated back to his room. He knew when he was not wanted. All that was left was Tony. Hulk liked Tony to some point, he turned and looked down at the little man. Tony held his hands up a little in submission.

"Obviously you want some alone time with your lady?" Tony said with a smile. Hulk huffed and gave a nod.

"I really love your work!" Tony called out as he went off to the kitchen. Hulk looked down to Izzy who was still pressed into him.

"Thor bad." He scooped her up in one arm and made his way to their room, having to squeeze in through the door.

"He's not bad, just uh... different." She said up to him. Hulk gave a huff.

"Different bad." She laughed and he smiled, sitting her down on the bed. He placed his two large hands on either side of her and looked down to her. Izzy looked up to the Hulk. His face was very much like Bruce's except the size and colouring. She touched his cheek gently which he seemed to enjoy. He placed a kiss on top of her head. He wasn't really able to kiss her and that was frustrating. He kneeled down infront of the bed and stroked his hand over her bare thigh. Her and Bruce had kissed a lot last night but that wasn't nearly enough for his liking. He pushed her thighs open and proded his finger against her underwear. She squirmed a little as he watched her. He was far too big for her. He groaned and got up.

"Hulk too big. Bruce fit." He said and she looked up to him wide eyed. He wondered if she understood so he decided to show her. It didn't take much for him to tear his clothes off and looked down to her. She stared at the giant man infront of her before giving a nod.

"Hulk definately too big." She said without removing her eyes from him. Hulk smiled proudly. He closed his eyes and relaxed himself. Izzy watched as the Hulk started to change back into Bruce. Within a moment Bruce collapsed against her, effectively pinning her down. She blushed softly as Bruce was still naked.Now all that was left to do for her was wait. She could have pushed him off her but that would likely end with Bruce hitting the floor and she didn't want that. She also didn't mind Bruce on top of her. Bruce would wake up soon enough.


	14. Chapter 14

Bruce woke slowly and looked down to find Izzy beneath him. He stood up quickly and discovered his nudity.

"Did he hurt you? I'm sorry." He spoke quickly. She only smiled up to him.

"No, knocked Thor about a little. From what I understand, he wants you to have sex with me." She said simply. He stared for a moment at her.

"He said that?" He felt nervous and a little awkward. The other guy setting him up to this extreme.

"Well, he tore his pants off to show me he was too big for me and said that you would um, fit." She smiled up to him playfully. He blushed softly and looked to his feet.

"And what was your opinion on this?" He glanced over to her as he went to fetch a spare pair of glasses from the bedside table.

"Well I wouldn't want to upset the big boy..." She smiled over. She was far too relaxed while he was so nervous. He thought of last night, kissing her was good. He looked her over; she was laying on the bed comfortably. He took a deep breath to try to relax his heart rate. It was time to get over his fears. He moved over to the bed and crawled over her. She was willing and accepted him into her arms. She made it all too easy for him to continue.

Izzy laid with Bruce, her head on his chest as she listened to his heartbeat. At one point she had seen Bruce's eyes flicker green. Right now he was more relaxed than ever and she was happy to have the power to do that to him. They laid in bed for a while until there was a soft tapping at the door.

"Who is it?" She called out, not wanting to get up. Her question was answered as Tony stuck his head in and grinned seeing the Hulk was now a more relaxed Bruce. Bruce pulled the sheets up a little more to make sure they were both covered.

"Can we help you Tony?" He asked, carefully trying to fix his messy hair.

"Just checking that everything has calmed down..." Tony grinned.

"Very calm." Izzy smirked, rubbing Bruce's chest.

"See, if you two had just listened to me from the start..." Tony trailed on with a smile.

"Oh yeah, say cheese." He pointed to the corner of the ceiling and they say the small glass eye.

"You've been filming us?" Izzy shot up.

"There are security cameras in every room of the house." Tony grinned. Bruce was shifting uncomfortably, imagining what Tony would do with that film.

"Jarvis do you have access to that footage?" Izzy asked.

"Yes madam." The posh computer voice replied.

"If you let Tony get anywhere near it you will personally have to answer to Hulk." Izzy stated simply.

"Understood madam." He replied. Tony huffed a little and told Jarvis off for being cowardly.

"Now Tony get out and Jarvis if you could please play said footage on the tv for our private viewing." Izzy smirked over to Bruce. Tony left the room quickly with a grin. After viewing and deleting the selected footage Bruce and Izzy finally made an effort to get out of bed. Izzy of course remembered why she got out of bed in the first place, she still needed to pee.

After a quick shower the two made their way to the kitchen. They had both missed breakfast and it was now around lunch time. Everyone was in eating lunch, Natasha and Clint had returned and been filled in. Bruce pushed his glasses up and gave a soft smile.

"Thor, I'm sorry..." He said softly. Thor was already up and coming over.

"I should apologise my friends, in Asgard your fellow warriors see you undressed. I have come to discover this is not common place between team mates on Earth. I did not mean to offend." He looked to both Bruce and Izzy.

"It's fine, I'll buy you a bath robe next time I'm shopping." Izzy smiled.

The afternoon was far less eventful. The Avengers held a movie marathon to try to get Thor and Steve to understand some of the modern world. Right now they mostly had to waste time until Loki or the Tesseract were found. SHIELD had the scanning device and were to give them reports every few hours.

Tony was overly smug about how well he had paired the two 'love birds' up. He of course did nothing for them. It was essentially Hulk who paired them up. Bruce looked to Izzy a little as they watched the movies. He was so relieved to not only have a girl who accepted him, Hulk and all but to also know he was still capable of a certain activity without losing control. Dinner time rolled around and no one had volunteered to cook.

"Alright everyone, we're going out." Tony jumped out of his seat. He wasn't a home body and needed to be out enjoying himself. Within half an hour everyone was ready to leave, a nearby chinese place being the destination. They had watched a movie that had the main characters eat chinese food. At first Thor was repulsed, believing that chinese food contained chinese people. They all quickly explained his intial understanding was very, very wrong and he decided shortly after that he would like to try it.

Taking two of Tony's cars, they arrived at the restaurant and were treated to a private room. Tony of course needed to show off so ordered several dishes of each meal on the menu. Their table was filled with food, giving Thor a chance to try everything. Despite the craziness of their makeshift family, for the first time in a long time; Bruce was happy.

**Author's note: No I don't put full on lemons in my fic, but maybe later on I will do a one shot with these characters. Maybe even Hulk can appear, haha. Send me your ideas and review!**


	15. Chapter 15

The night had been more eventful than they expected. After chinese Thor was very curious to see Chinatown, so they all went over and enjoyed the nightlife. It included heavy drinking and eating. As no one was sober enough to drive Tony happily bought out every room available in a nearby hotel. Bruce had let himself go that night with his new friends and happily fell into bed with Izzy. They were both too drunk to act on any impulses but managed a sloppy kiss before passing out together. Naturally Tony had somehow wormed his way into their room and passed out in bed with them.

The next morning Bruce woke to the sound of a strange beeping he hadn't heard before, his head was heavy and hurting. He slowly opened his eyes, vaguely remembering the night before. He smiled when he saw Izzy laying half under him, her breasts acting as his pillow. He was not happy to feel a third arm over him though. He turned to see Tony snuggled up to his other side. It took about a second for Bruce to realise that Tony was far too happy snuggling up to him. Out of instinct he shoved Tony away from him and out of the bed in the process.

"Pepper!" Tony called as he shot up on the floor, looking around confused.

"Where's Pepper? She was here just now... Why'd you push me off the bed?" It took him a few minutes to wake up. He eventually realised he was having a very good dream before being pushed off the bed.

"You've got an erection for god's sake!" Bruce snapped, if he just woke up to Izzy he would be a happy man but having Tony Stark... poking your leg was not something Bruce ever wanted to experience.

"Mmm, I've got an erection too." Came the sleepy and possibly still drunk voice of Izzy.

"That's great pet but women can't have erections." Tony smiled, he was used to making an ass of himself during his drinking sessions and recovered from it quickly.

"Yes they caaaan." She smiled, eyes still closed as she groped her own chest.

"Ah, erect nipples. Good job." Tony said with a smirk, knowing he could use this against her later.

"Yep, so I've got two hard ons while you've only got one. I win." She smiled, stretching out. She then began to giggle.

"Maybe that's why he built Stark Tower, to compensate." She grinned, opening her eyes slowly. Tony wasn't happy about that remark.

"I do not need to compensate, ask Bruce, he knows." Tony replied. Bruce rubbed his head, maybe it was only him feeling hung over.

"How does he know?" She asked, not quite with it yet.

"He was jabbing me." Bruce said casually. Izzy moved to lay over Bruce and smacked Tony playfully in the face.

"Bruce is mine! I'm the only one to jab him." She snapped.

"Well said." Bruce said, closing his eyes again to sleep. The beeping was still there.

"And Tony, answer your phone." He grumbled. Tony pulled his phone out of his pocket.

"Shit." He said quickly, seeming to sober even faster.

"Loki. Tesseract. Stark Tower. Now." He rushed off to tell the others. Bruce and Izzy woke much faster now and sat up.

"I've got to help them." Bruce said, getting up and retrieving his pants from the floor.

"I'll come too." Izzy said, fixing hair shirt. Bruce looked over to her, grabbing her shoulders.

"No, absolutely not. You stay here. Stay away from the fight." He said, deathly serious.

"But Bruce I can't just sit back and let you guys go fight..." She looked up to him.

"You have to. I can't control Hulk knowing you could get hurt." He looked to her in desperation. She touched his cheek gently and gave a nod.

"Go get 'em big guy." She quickly pressed a deep kiss to his lips which he returned gladly.

She watched Bruce leave and laid back down. She knew she'd worry too much if she focused on the battle or whatever it was that was going to come. She ordered breakfast (charged to Tony naturally). She ate and avoided any news stations on tv before going to take a shower.

Elsewhere the gateway had been opened and a hoard of aliens were flooding in. The Avengers worked together while trying to shut down the gateway and find Loki. He was no where to be found. Hulk was growing worried, he was not happy that Izzy was left alone but heard one of the others say that the beasts they were killing hadn't made it too far yet. Thor searched all over for his brother and was coming up short. Where was he?

Izzy came out of the bathroom in a towel and flicked the tv on. She lazily took the time get dried before pulling her clothes back on. She felt very refreshed but wished she had clean clothes. She also wished for a toothbrush so she didn't have to clean her teeth with the complimentary toothpaste and her finger. She relaxed on the bed, running her fingers through her damp hair. No idea that she was being watched.

Loki was not near Stark Tower or anywhere near the battle taking place. The chitauri were failing so he had to come up with a back up plan quickly. It wasn't long before he had one and he had slipped away from the battle easily. The Hulk was a powerful force in their team but Loki knew from Bruce's reactions when he had talked to him that he had one little flaw. And those foolish men left her all alone in Chinatown.

**Author's note: Dun dun dunnn! Yes Loki is going for Izzy. Seriously, he's the bad guy and he knows about an Avenger's weakness, of course he's going to take it. What will happen? Wait and see!**


	16. Chapter 16

Izzy sat on the bed after getting dressed. She finally decided to change the tv to the news. She watched at they showed a battle going on in the far background, no one wanting to get too close. It looked however like they were winning. The camera zoomed in to show Hulk killing an impressively large and ugly creature.

"Thank god." She whispered to herself. Then came a deep voice laughing.

"Yes, thank me. Though I must admit I am not sure what for yet." Loki stepped out from his invisible hiding spot and Izzy stared.

"You!" The man creeped her out and sadly she wasn't as brave as she wished she was.

"Ah, thanking me for my presence. I can certainly appreciate that." He continued to tease as he stepped closer. Izzy had to wonder just how long Loki had been in the room, what had he seen?

"What are you doing here? You know Hulk will-" She was cut off.

"Hulk? Ah the beast. No, he will do nothing. If that overgrown ape has a brain in that thick skull of his he'd know how quickly I could end you. We do need to take care of him though." Loki's smile twisted into place. Izzy's heart was racing.

"What will you do to him?" She dared to ask.

"What will I do? Nothing actually. It's what you will do that you should be worrying about. You'll be the one to break him." He grinned.

"I will never hurt him, I can't hurt him!" She shouted out. The Hulk was indestructable.

"You can and you will. While I am not the sort to force a woman, I do not have time to efficiently woo you. So that will be saved for later. For now we will do things the easy way." He pressed his staff to her chest and Izzy's dark brown eyes turned to a hollow blue colour.

"Now, who's my girl?" He asked wickedly. She stared up at him.

"I am." She whispered. She was now the good, mindless pet of Loki.

"Good, now let's get moving shall we?" He offered his hand which she took quickly. It was like a nightmare, it was Izzy moving and speaking but she had no control. Loki quickly made his way from the building and headed back towards Stark tower. Izzy staying by his side. She was herself but obeyed him fully. Everything he said was right. Everything he told her to do, she would. He helped her onto the alien transportation device, wrapping her arms around him from behind. She held tight to him as he steered it off back into the thick of the battle.

"You will love me. Bruce Banner does not exist. That green beast is mindless and only wants you for selfish purposes. He could never know love. I know love and I can give you that if you wish." Loki spoke quickly as they fly through the sky.

"I think I would love to be loved." Izzy teased in typical Izzy fashion. Loki gave a smile.

"That's my girl." Loki grinned. Hulk wouldn't be able to touch him now and none of the others would dare to risk hurting the great green beast.

"That hair of yours will need to change later of course. I did very much like that bit of green you had in it before." He added. She was as good a choice as any to have as his woman after this was all over. Once he was ruling the pathetic humans it would be fitting to have a human bride. Of course this girl came with the added perk of being won during the battle. After the Avengers were taken care of he would give her freedom back and have her submit the natural way, that would be more rewarding.

"I'll dye it again. How about black with green and golden blonde through it?" Izzy suggested happily, thinking of matching her god. Loki smirked, that was her own creative idea. She would make a nice little pet.

"That sounds just perfect." He rewarded her with a kiss to the cheek. She seemed to light up with the small bit of contact and that just made him grin all the more. Bruce Banner wouldn't see what hit him. Izzy happily gave him new information about what they had all done at Stark tower. She laughed and put down Thor as she told the story of seeing him naked. Loki smiled, she really knew how to stroke his ego. She went through the story of how Bruce bedded her. Loki didn't like that but knew the intimate connection would cause Hulk to hurt more at her rejection. She explained everyone of their personalities, their flaws and their strengths. She left no detail behind. With Loki's control over her, she felt no guilt. Once her freedom was returned she would no doubt feel the pain of betraying them.

Loki continued to groom her with his words. He got an understanding of her personality without it's freedom. He also gave her plenty of insults to work with when the Hulk came to find them. He also warned her off the other Avengers, especially Thor. He had thought he could have her fawn over Thor to turn the Hulk against him, Loki would have loved to see Thor being beaten senseless. But it was much better to have her love Loki. If Hulk or any of the others tried anything against him, she would be there to throw herself infront of him. He believed that none of them would be able to take her out to get to him.

Loki landed down in the thick of the battle, all that was left was for him to wait until the Avengers found them.


	17. Chapter 17

**Author's note: I know the staff is the key to turning off the gateway but I've had to change that a little for my story. So forgive the change and enjoy.**

The Avengers were working on taking out the last of the Chitauri. Iron Man had thrown the missile into the wormhole right before Natasha took out the gateway by overriding the system controlling it. They believed they had killed the last of them so all that was left was finding Loki. Thor was no longer as concerned about protecting his brother. He wanted him alive but gave the Avengers full permission to do what they had to in order to capture him. It was Captain America who spotted him first as he finished off one of the injured Chitauri. Loki stood out in the open with a smug smile on his face. He really must have gone mad. Steve knew it would take a bit to bring him in so he quickly reported his and Loki's position before approaching him.

"Loki! You are in a whole mess of trouble, surrender now to make it easier on yourself." Steve ordered, leaving some distance between them as he knew Loki's fighting style; dirty. Loki simply smiled at Steve.

"I will be nothing of the sort. Actually, you will be the one to surrender to me." Loki spoke with a deathly calm voice. Steve waited for the others. They all quickly joined him, Hulk was standing behind them. Loki was very happy, the stage was set.

"What makes you think we would surrender to you?" Steve asked, comforted with Thor beside him.

"You wouldn't risk harming her." Loki said, signalling someone over. They didn't see until the last moment and would have never suspected. Izzy stepped out from behing some wreckage, happily moving to Loki's side. Her blue eyes were easy to spot.

"What have you done to her?" Steve cried out.

"Nothing I haven't enjoyed." Izzy said teasingly, pressing a kiss to Loki's lips. Hulk roared out. No one could tell if it was anger or pain in his cry.

"Oh don't be like." Loki smiled up to Hulk. Hulk quickly tried to move forward until he saw Izzy step infront of Loki in a protective manner.

"Izzy..." He spoke with difficulty.

"Oh so the great ape talks does he? I didn't think his brain would allow it." Loki smiled playfully, all too amused at seeing Hulk in pain. The others were stumped on what to do. With Izzy beside Loki, they were at a stand still. Loki slid an arm around her waist in a possessive manner. Hulk understood enough to know she was being controlled but it still burned his insides to see her like that. He groaned out.

"Don't be so pathetic. You must have known it would happen sooner or later. Why would any woman choose a beast when she can have a god?" Izzy spat. Her voice like venom. She pressed herself into Loki and looked all too pleased with herself. Hulk stared, his heart breaking.

"Izzy, you need to fight this. He's controlling you. He doesn't really love you." Natasha tried to reason.

"It's no use. Words won't break her out of that. We need to get her away from him and do to her what you did to me." Clint reasoned, rubbing the back of his head which was still sore. Hulk didn't seem at all pleased.

"No hurt!" He shouted. She may be saying cruel things but that was Loki's fault. Hulk wouldn't have her hurt.

"Right now we're going to have to hurt her a little to save her from that creep. Ok big guy?" Clint looked up to Hulk. Hulk stared for a moment, Izzy in pain was not something he could handle. But Izzy in the arms of that monster was worse. He gave a sad nod.

"So we must seperate her from my brother." Thor spoke softly, trying not to let Loki hear. The Avengers moved back a little to work on a plan. Loki let them, Izzy wouldn't leave his side.

"Discussing how best to go about giving in? Let's make this quick, hmm? I have a woman to bed!" Loki called out to them with a grin, giving Izzy a firm pat on the behind for show. Hulk glared at Loki, doing all he could to contain his building rage. They could all see Hulk was ready to smash everything in sight.

"We can't get Izzy to leave him and he's too smart to leave her. So we're going to have to separate them by force." Steve said.

"My suit is almost done for so I can't get involved as much as I'd love to. But I swear, after this I will buy us all the drinks we could want. Even you big fella." He smiled up to Hulk. While Tony considered Bruce interesting normally, he really did love this side of him. Hulk gave a nod but continued to glare as Loki. He huffed loudly as he watched Loki make large gestures. Groping at Izzy, kissing her, caressing her. Hulk wanted to rip the little man apart bit by bit.

"How do we get them apart though?" Clint asked. Hulk looked over and only just registered what they were saying. Separate them by force. Hulk had force. He walked over to them and Loki grinned up to him.

"Coming to get a closer look at our love?" Loki grinned, pulling Izzy to him and kissing her heatedly. She responded far too willingly. Hulk watched for just a moment before picking them up in each hand. The Avengers surrounded him quickly. He carefully handed Izzy, who was fighting againt him, to Thor.

"Gentle." He said to the kinder god.

"You have my word." Thor said, restraining the girl.

"Let me go you beast or I'll order her to kill herself!" Loki shouted out, he had a plan for everything.

"No." Hulk said simply, pressing a thumb to the god's mouth to effectively muzzle him. He looked away as Natasha used a rock to knock Izzy out. Hulk knew she couldn't hear Loki now so he moved his thumb away and grinned happily. Now it was his turn. He threw Loki to the ground with a loud thud. Punching his fist into him. He then continued to throw him around like a rag doll, purposely landing a few punches to the little man's groin. No one does the things he did to Izzy without punishment.

"Puny god." He spat down to Loki, continuing the beating. Everyone watched with amusement, except Thor who really did find it hard. He knew Loki deserved it for his cruelty but it was painful to watch. Hulk finally thew Loki to the ground and moved over to pick up Izzy.

Loki lay in the ground. Cursing his stupid idea which he thought was foolproof. He scoffed a little though it hurt to do so, a foolproof plan that was torn apart by a green ape. Thor and Steve moved over to collect the damaged god of lies.

"I'm taking you home brother." Thor said with a strict look. Loki needed to be punished for his crimes.

"Just get me away from the beast." Loki said.

"Be thankful he stopped when he did." Steve said with a smile.

"Enjoy her while you can beast! It's only a matter of time before she grows tired of your mood swings! You'll mess up sooner or later!" Loki called out, needing to have one last dig before he was hauled away. Soon Odin would have him and he'd be done for.

Hulk stared down at Izzy. A shred of doubt growing. Could she learn to love him? He and Bruce were one so to truly love Bruce, she would need to love Hulk. Other men were more stable, more normal. He huffed sadly.

"Don't listen to him buddy. You and Bruce are two of a kind." Tony said with a grin. Hulk looked down to the little metal man, he was a nice one.

"Izzy love Hulk?" He asked slowly.

"Well, only time will tell." Tony smiled and gave the large man a pat of the arm.


	18. Chapter 18

Izzy woke slowly and groaned out at the pain in her head. She tried to move until she realised her arms and legs were strapped to the bed. Her head pounded hard and she remembered Loki taking control of her. She also remembered that Loki claimed he would return her freedom and woo her properly. She looked around the dark room. Did he have her? She remembered giving away all her information on the Avengers, she remembered what she said to Hulk. She swallowed hard. If Loki still had her then she deserved this for hurting Bruce.

"Is there anyone there?" She called out. Waiting a few moments until she heard footsteps. She looked up a little as a door opene and let in light. She closed her eyes as they hurt. The light in her room was then switched on.

"Look at me." The voice was raspy and broken, she didn't reconise it.

"Look at me!" It said again so she fought the pain of the light and opened her eyes to see a very worn down Bruce. He examined her eyes for a moment and relaxed visibly.

"You're back." He finally said softly. Of course, he had to see her deep brown eyes again to be certain. She looked up to him and her eyes glazed over.

"Don't look at me." She said sadly.

"What?" He asked.

"Don't look at me. I betrayed everyone and you worst of all." She could remember spitting those cruel things at Hulk.

"That wasn't you." He said, touching her cheek.

"It still came from my mouth. And the look on Hulk's face..." She looked up to him deperately.

"How can he or you forgive me?" She sniffed. Bruce looked to her for a long moment.

"Tell me you'd pick a beast over a god." He said seriously. She looked up to him.

"I wouldn't pick either. I'd pick you." She said softly.

"I am a beast." He said sadly.

"You're as much a beast as any man Bruce. No more, no less." She said honestly.

"So you'd pick me, even with Hulk attached?" He asked her.

"Yes. But right now I do not deserve either of you." She looked down, she was hurting.

"You had no choice in the matter. Loki's staff was powered by the Tesseract, the most powerful energy in the universe. No one could fight that power, not you, me or even Thor." He said seriously, carefully taking off her restraints.

"How long have I been out?" She asked, rubbing her wrists.

"Thirteen hours. You've been stirring for about four hours. Your body has been moving violently, it's still working everything out of it's system." He explained.

"Clint said you should be fine by the morning. You'll just need some pain killers for your head." He smiled softly, stroking his hand over her head to feel the lump.

"I don't deserve pain killers." She spoke, it was obvious she was going to torture herself with this.

"Clint killed other SHIELD agents while he was being controlled and he's accepted it." Bruce tried to reason.

"Clint is a trained killer. I'm not a trained... bitchy whore." She huffed. Bruce's stomach twisted as he thought of her kissing Loki.

"I have to ask... how far did he get with you?" He knew the answer would be too much for him but he had to know.

"You saw how far. He saved the physical stuff until we were infront of you. Mostly he just told me a bunch of lies that I believed fully. I also told him so much about us all." She looked down.

"He's in Asgard now, he'll have no chance to use that information. The others understand too. They're just happy you're safe." Bruce soothed. She looked up to him for a moment before throwing herself at him, clinging to him.

"Please forgive me." She whimpered.

"All is already forgiven." He smiled softly and embaraced her.

"Really?" She looked up to him.

"Yes, though you may have to suck up to Hulk a little. He did cop the worst of it." Bruce smiled.

"I will. I'll even change my favorite colour to green." She smiled softly.

"I'm sure he'd like that. But he might need some... attention." Bruce teased gently.

"Attention?" She asked. Her eyes were a little wide imagining what Hulk could possibly want from her. She remembered his size and was reminded of her friend with the sick sense of humor. As a teenager she had a friend that found it hilarious to look at all the bizarre porn that people found disgusting. More specifically; Izzy remembered her friend telling her about a video showing a woman having her jaw broken while trying to sexually relieve a horse. And Hulk was much larger than a horse.

"Hugs, kisses, confessions of attraction." Bruce smiled as Izzy relaxed a great deal. He wouldn't pressure her to do something sexual and likely injure herself with Hulk. The thought of it did seem erotic to him but the size difference could only make it end badly. Right now he knew that he and Hulk both needed some sign of love and that could be shown in other ways. He believed it was too soon for either of them to be thinking of being in love but loving someone and being in love were two different things. Loving someone meant caring about them, feeling close to them and wanting to be around them. Being in love with someone meant much stronger feelings, connections and more importance put on them. While Bruce felt something inclined to that towards Izzy, he knew that they still needed time to build that connection together. Izzy pressed a kiss to Bruce's lips and smiled.

"I'd be happy to give that to both of you." She whispered.

**Author's note: Sorry for the horse story! That actually came from real life. I had the friend who found all those types of videos funny. I found it gross but usually ended up hearing about them. No I don't think something with Hulk would be gross, just that it would be very unrealistic to try to have Izzy sleep with him. I'm sure most Bruce/Hulk fans would want Hulk involved in some way and I am thinking on that. I think if anything is to happen it would mainly be a lot of touching. As I've said before; I won't be adding lemons to this fic but will likely do a oneshot lemon when I finish the fic to prevent a rating change.**


	19. Chapter 19

Bruce carefully lead Izzy out of the small room she was in and out into the lounge room. This wasn't Stark tower but it was definately Tony style. It was the middle of the night so it was empty. She looked around, trying to guess where she was.

"This is Tony's beach house in Miami." Bruce whispered, leading her into the kitchen. She sat down an one of the bar stools and looked around.

"Everyone is here?" She asked.

"Everyone minus Thor." Bruce smiled, pouring a glass of water and getting pain killers out.

"Is everyone upset with me?" Izzy feared they would.

"No one is upset. They'll all be happy you're awake and ok." He answered, pushing the glass and pills over to her. She really hated pills but swallowed them with the water.

"Hungry?" He asked. Izzy shook her head.

"All I really want is a bath or shower. I feel so dirty after..." She couldn't say it. She couldn't bring up Loki infront of Bruce. He gave a nod of understanding.

"This place has a few rooms with built in bathrooms. Tony was kind enough to give us one." Bruce smiled, leading her to their room.

"What happened to Stark tower?" Izzy expected that to be their location.

"It took a fair bit of damage during the fight. Tony is having it repaired and thought we'd all enjoy a holiday." He replied. They stepped into the large bedroom. It was similar to the one at Stark tower but with a tropical theme. The windows were open to let in a warm breeze and show off the beach. Bruce went into the bathroom and ran a bath while Izzy looked around.

"This place is pretty far from the room I was in. How did you hear me?" She questioned, coming to the door of the bathroom.

"I was sitting in the chair outside the door... could hardly sleep while you were like that." Bruce said softly. It was only now in the bright light of the bathroom that Izzy noticed just how tired Bruce looked. He was always messy and worn out but this was a whole new level of exhaustion. She bit her lip and moved over, hugging into him from behind.

"I'm sorry to have worried you." She whispered into his back. She felt him turn in her arms.

"It's all over now so we can relax." He smiled softly, placing a kiss on her forehead. He turned from her to check the water, make sure it was warm enough and to turn off the water when it was done. Izzy knew one way to relax. She quickly shed her clothes just in time for Bruce to turn back to her. He was caught off guard and stared a little. He carefully pushed his glasses up.

"Well, you're certainly ready for a bath." He smiled softly, taking her all in.

"Will you stay and wash my back?" Bruce shivered, she had purposely put on a sweeter voice to ask that.

"If that's what the patient wants..." He smiled.

"Such a good doctor." Izzy smirked, unbuttoning his shirt.

Bruce sat infront of Izzy after their fun, her small hands working the knots out of his back. He'd forgotten how good the simple things like back rubs were. She hummed a random tune to herself. He allowed himself to relax fully, his eyes closing slowly. He was so tired.

"I think it's time to get out." Izzy whispered softly, giving his shoulders a gentle squeeze.

"Mmm? Why?" He mumbled, leaning back against her.

"You're falling asleep and while you're no Hulk, you're still too big for me to carry your ass." She teased.

"Alright alright. Time to get up." He grumbled, forcing himself out of the tub with a groan. He was too tired to notice Izzy drying them both off. He was too tired to notice her lead him to their bedroom. Too tired to feel her tuck him in. He was asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. Lastly, he was too tired to realise for the first time in a long time; he was letting someone take care of him.

Izzy woke early, she got two more hours sleep after going to bed with Bruce. She went out to the kitchen with intentions to cook Bruce a nice big breakfast. She would never be very 'house wifey' but she would at least try to take care of him after he'd worried so much about her. What she forgot about the other Avengers. They were all up and in the kitchen area for breakfast. Tony looked hungover but he had gotten knocked around a lot the day before so he might have just been worn out. The others looked ok, Clint and Natasha sported a few minor cuts and bruises. Steve was fine as always.

"Um, morning everyone..." Izzy said softly and looked down.

"Morning everyone? No comment about me looking like shit?" Tony asked with a smile.

"Well you do, yes. But I didn't feel the right to point it out." She said with a soft smile.

"Ah, feeling guilty about being a brain washed drone?" Clint guessed, he had felt something similar.

"Something like that, yeah." Izzy looked over to him.

"Don't worry about it. None of us hold anything against you. We're just glad you're safe." Steve said, coming over and placing a hand on Izzy's head.

"Thanks Steve." She said, looking up to him.

"And where's our lovable green giant?" Tony asked over his coffee.

"He's in bed. I'm gonna take him breakfast in bed. He stayed outside my room while I was out to it so he must be tired." She replied, going over and rummaging through the fridge.

"There's a lot more food now that Thor isn't here to eat everything." Natasha said with a smile.

"Yeah there is. Is he coming back?" Izzy asked, collecting eggs, milk and butter from the fridge. French toast would be good.

"Yeah he said he'd visit after the Bifrost is repaired. Which he guessed to take a few months." Clint replied, eating some toast. Izzy gave a nod and got to work after raiding the pantry. Before long she had Steve buzzing around in hopes of being offered some french toast as well. She gave him the few pieces that didn't look as nice as the rest and headed to the bedroom with her breakfast tray for two.

Bruce woke slowly and searched for his glasses. He sat and stretched, seeing the empty spot where Izzy was meant to be. He wondered where she was but not for long as the door swung open to reveal Izzy with a tray of good smelling food.

"I hope I get this treatment every morning." Bruce smiled.

"Don't count on it, but today you do." Izzy smiled, sitting down on the bed and placing the tray between them.

"Well I could get used to it." He smiled, digging in.


	20. Chapter 20

**Author's note: A few people have been asking for Hulk so in this chapter you get him!**

After breakfast in bed Izzy went into town with Natasha. She had no spare clothes and was only borrowing some of Natasha's. Once getting a few outfits and stopping at the supermarket to get supplies they returned home. Steve and Tony were fighting when they got back which wasn't a surprise. Even after learning to work together the two men were still very different.

"What's going on?" Izzy asked as she walked over to Clint who was in the kitchen.

"They're fighting over the tv." Clint said with boredom.

"At first it was really amusing but now it's just stupid. This is Tony's place, he probably has flat screens just as big all over the house. He's just trying to take this one from Steve to prove he's the alpha dog or something." Izzy rolled her eyes and put away the food.

"Where's Bruce?" She asked.

"He wasn't coping well with all the shouting so he's in your room." Clint replied casually, they weren't as afraid of the Hulk it appeared. Izzy gave a nod and grabbed her bags before heading down the hallway. She entered the room to find the voices still reaching her. Bruce sat on the bed with his hands over his face. He really wasn't good with people fighting under any circumstance. She remembered the file on him in the SHIELD datebase, this was one of his minor triggers. They believed his parents fought a lot and that brought up anxiety. Izzy moved over to Bruce and kneeled down at his feet.

"Bruce, are you ok hun?" She whispered sweetly, taking his hands in hers. He looked down to her, he was tired. Obviously living with the Avengers was going to be difficult for him. So many personalities in one spot.

"I just don't like hearing them shout at each other. Tempted to go smash the tv so they have nothing to fight about..." He looked to her.

"I have a better idea. If you're humor me." She smiled up to him.

"What's your idea?" He asked curiously.

"Well, when clothes shopping I just so happened to come across this." She said with a smile as she pulled out a green bikini. It was very much Hulk green. He smiled down to her.

"And what do you want to do with that." He smiled.

"Well, I gave you breakfast in bed so I think now is the time to give Hulk some attention." She smiled. Bruce raised his eyebrow, bringing the Hulk out usually caused trouble.

"Tony has a private beach and you still need to learn some more control. Maybe if you brought Hulk out more often you wouldn't get set off as easily. Living with these guys will really test you so you need to learn to blow off some steam. Besides, Hulk isn't too big for the ocean is he?" She smiled up to him.

"Well if you're going to wear that bikini I think it should be fine..." He smiled down to her.

"Great. Get ready." She pecked his lips and went into the bathroom to change. Bruce carefully stripped himself of everything but his pants. Izzy came back out in the green bikini and Bruce had to smile, she looked good.

"Ready to go?" She offered her hand which he took.

"With you? Always." He smiled, walking out with her. Everyone looked and found it curious that Bruce was only in pants and Izzy was in a bikini.

"You know if you want to go swimming I can lend you some trunks." Tony said with a smile.

"They'd only get ruined. I'm taking Hulk on a date." Izzy said with a smile which made everyone look more now.

"Well you look lovely. If there's any problems just call us." Steve said carefully. Calling her lovely in a bikini made Bruce twitch a little but he could use that later.

"No way, we're not letting them go. We have to come and see this." Tony said excitedly.

"No. It's hardly a date if you tag along." Izzy said before leading Bruce out the back door and down to the beach. They could hear Tony complain about the unfairness of it all.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say Tony has a crush on Hulk." Izzy smiled playfully.

"Please, never say that again." Bruce said with a smile. Once they reached the sand Bruce stopped and focused himself for a moment, allowing himself to change. It happened more smoothly this time as he was controlling it. Izzy smiled up as Hulk looked down to her.

"Hey there." She smiled softly. Hulk gave a lop sided grin.

"Before our date, I wanted to say sorry for the things I said. Loki was controlling me and I didn't mean them but well... I'm still sorry I hurt you." She looked up to him seriously. He reached out and touched her cheek.

"Hulk forgive." He said softly which made her smile. He returned the smile and scooped her up, throwing her over his shoulder as he ran to the water. She laughed out against him. Back at the house everyone was watching from the deck. The tv was left forgotten as they all found better entertainment.

"I wish we knew what they were saying." Clint asked, watching carefully.

"Oh Hulk, I love your giant green penis. Please take me now!" Tony said in a high pitched feminine voice.

"That's disgusting." Natasha replied.

"Mm, Hulk like little woman's boobs. Take off top." Tony continued in a much deeper voice.

"Shut up!" She snapped, only causing Tony to laugh.

"I've gotta agree with Tony. She has a giant green boyfriend. Something has to be going on." Clint said, earning a jab from Natasha.

Out in the water Izzy laid against Hulk's chest as he floated through the water. She could feel him move beneath her as he breathed slowly. She could tell he was happy being out somewhere that he could move freely without causing damage.

"Are you happy?" She asked, catching his attention.

"Happy." He said and smiled. He gently touched her cheek. She smiled and pressed a kiss to his large finger. He let out a happy chuckle, something she hadn't heard before.

"Izzy pretty." Hulk said softly. He tried to think of what people did on dates. He searched through Bruce's memories. He thought of times when Bruce had taken Betty out. They would eat dinner, Bruce would compliment her and they would kiss. He huffed a little at the thought of Betty. She hurt Bruce and he had hurt her. Hulk didn't like Betty, Bruce did but he didn't. Betty made Bruce sad a lot and asked difficult questions. Izzy wasn't like that. Hulk liked Izzy. He stood up in the water and held onto her. He kissed her cheek and she smiled up to him. Carefully she pulled herself up and kissed him. It was a little awkward because her mouth seemed to only cover a portion of his bottom lip but he was happy with it none the less. Hulk carried her back to the sand and sat her down.

"Izzy wait here." He said to her. She gave a nod and watched him run back up to the deck.

"Shit! His massive ears heard what we were saying!" Tony said and stood up quickly as Hulk approached. Hulk stopped infront of the desk, not wanting to make Tony sad by smashing it which would happen if he went onto it.

"Uh, hey big guy. What can we do for you?" Steve asked. Hulk looked down to him with a grunt.

"Hulk no like you." He said and pushed him away with enough force to knock him over but not enough to do damage. He was Izzy's friend.

"Can I help then?" Tony offered with a grin. Hulk looked to him and gave a nod. He bent over so he was closer to Tony's face.

"Need food for date." He said. He couldn't cook himself.

"Oh right, like a picnic lunch or something?" Clint asked. Hulk looked over to him. Hulk didn't quite understand what a picnic was.

"Date food." He tried to explain. Clint just stared at him dumbly before giving a nod and going to get food. Hulk sat down with a bit of a thud. Tony looked to him and smiled.

"So how is the date going?" He grinned, trying to make conversation. They were all a little curious as he didn't talk much.

"Good date. Izzy good." He said with a nod.

"I think we got off on the wrong foot. I only want to be friends with Izzy and you too. I know she is Bruce's girlfriend. So can we be friends?" Steve asked, he was stubborn. He offered his hand to Hulk. Hulk huffed, Izzy liked him so Hulk would have to accept him too. He took the tiny hand and shook it, enjoying the look of pain on Steve's face.

"Izzy Bruce's girlfriend and Hulk's girlfriend." Hulk corrected him.

"Right, she's your girlfriend too." Steve said, rubbing his hand. Hulk gave a nod.

"She mine and Bruce's." He smiled.

"And uh, do you like Izzy in the bedroom?" Tony smiled. Hulk didn't understand.

"Hulk like Izzy everywhere." He replied.

"No, I mean. You know, sex with Izzy." Tony said much to Natasha's horror.

"Hulk too big. No fit." He tried to explain, Tony couldn't help but grin.

"I'm a bit like that myself." He replied with a smile.

"No. Tony little man." Hulk said with a smile much to Tony's bewilderment.

"So what, is Bruce a little man too?" He asked with a frown. Hulk huffed.

"No. Bruce big enough. Makes Izzy happy." He said. Clint came out with a basket of food and held it up to Hulk.

"It's sandwiches." He said.

"Good." Hulk said with a smile and took the basket, heading back to the beach.

Izzy looked up to him when he returned and smiled.

"I thought you'd forgotten me." She smiled as he sat and placed the basket down.

"No forget. Hulk get food for date." He smiled proudly. Izzy opened the basket and took out two sandwiches. She unwrapped one and held it out to him. He finished it in one bite. She took her time to eat.

"Did you like your date Hulk?" Izzy asked after eating and laying in the sand for a while. She would burn if they didn't call it a day soon.

"Date not over." Hulk said to her while sitting up.

"We really should go in, I don't know about you but my skin burns easily." She sat up to look to him.

"Must kiss at end of date." He said with a smile.

"Well I suppose one little kiss is ok." She said and smiled, puckering her lips playfully. Hulk leaned down and kissed her. It felt like his lips had captured her entire face for a moment. She grinned up to him.

"Hulk like Izzy." He smiled.

"Izzy like Hulk too."


	21. Chapter 21

Bruce opened his eyes slowly, he was naked in his and Izzy's room. Sitting up slowly Bruce recalled his memories as Hulk. A smile crossed his lips, Izzy had given him the afternoon he needed. It was carefree, fun and settled Hulk. His peaceful thoughts were interrupted as Tony came in.

"Ok Bruce, let's settle this as men." Tony said without looking at him. He quickly unzipped and showed him.

"Hulk wants to call me a tiny man, I'd like to see him call me tiny now." He said with a smirk before looking over to see Bruce on Izzy's bed, naked.

"As it appears Tony. Between the two of us, you are the tiny man." Bruce said, unable to help himself. He didn't want to offend Tony but the man just walked in and flashed his junk. He had it coming. Tony huffed a bit, his ego and pride was only hurting more now.

"Well, it's not the size that matters but what you do with it." Tony replied, he had never had to use that line before. It was at that moment that Izzy walked in, unaware of Tony's exposed member.

"Jesus Stark, put it away!" She snapped, flinching away from the unzipped hero.

"This isn't what it looks like." Tony quickly covered up.

"Look, I don't care how drunk you are. Bruce doesn't want to sleep with you." She smirked, looking over once he was covered.

"That is not what I wanted!" Tony snapped.

"Oh, so you just show every guy your dick?" She teased further.

"No... but..." For once the smart mouth genius had nothing to say. Bruce laughed.

"Hulk called Tony a tiny man and he was trying to prove otherwise." He smiled.

"Ah I see. Well now that you know you can't compare, will you please leave?" She asked with a large grin. Tony left, trying to keep his pride in tact. Izzy smiled over to Bruce.

"So you enjoyed the date?" She asked, sitting down on the bed beside him. Bruce sat up slowly and placed a pillow over his lap. She'd seen him a few times now but he was still a little bashful in the light of day.

"I think it was exactly what I needed... what we both needed." He replied, referring to Hulk. She smiled.

"Good. We could try something like that whenever you need it." She smiled, kissing his cheek.

"And you don't mind his... crudeness?" Bruce questioned lightly.

"I like both sides of you. It's kind of fun getting to know both sides of you." She smiled.

"It would be fun to do this more often. I'm not really sure what will happen to us after this whole Avengers thing blows over..." He said seriously.

"Didn't you say you wanted to go back to India?" Izzy asked softly.

"Hmm, yeah I did." He looked to her.

"So what happened?" She questioned.

"Something better came up." He smiled, taking her hand. Izzy couldn't help but smile.

"So what do you want to do now? I don't think Hulk would fit in my apartment to be honest." She teased.

"Well Tony does want us all to live in Stark Tower. Kind of make it the Avenger's home base. I don't like it though. Me in the city doesn't really work. I like these guys but the fighting will continue and will likely get worse. So many different personalities aren't meant to be so close together all the time. SHIELD kept an eye on me when I thought I went off the grid. So there's no real point in trying to hide again. I don't know what to do really." Bruce pushed his fingers through his hair before getting up and starting on getting dressed. In all that had happened in the past few days, he hadn't taken the time to plan his next move. He also knew it would be too soon to assume he could invite himself to live with her.

"Maybe somewhere in the country would be nice. You know my kind of work doesn't really require an office... I could work from anywhere in the world." Izzy looked over to him.

"You'd really live with me? Even with the risks." He asked.

"So far that risk hasn't really done me any harm." Izzy smiled and moved over to hug Bruce.

"We can just... try. See what happens and take it from there. There's no harm in that, right?" She pecked his lips quickly.

"And if things don't go well? I have anger issues you know." He asked softly.

"And I have boobs. Which we have both established; works well with your anger issues." She grinned. Bruce couldn't help but smile.

"Yes, they are very calming." Bruce teased a hand down over her chest.

"See? Problem solved. You get angry, I take my top off." She smiled.

"But you see, I'm always angry." Bruce smirked some.

"So I guess I have to become a nudist." Izzy smiled. Bruce lead Izzy out to the living area to join the others. He knew where their conversation was leading and had to put it off until the night. He was sick of being walked in on and didn't need Tony seeing that.

"What did you guys do to Tony? He's being weird... well, more than usual." Clint said when they arrived.

"He's just depressed cause Bruce is packing more in the pants department than him." Izzy said bluntly with a smile.

"I heard that!" Tony snapped from behind the bar.

"I only speak the truth." Izzy said in an overly sweet voice. It actually appeared to her that Tony was sulking. Maybe it was time to be nice to him. She casually walked over to the bar.

"Tell me Tony, has a woman you've ever slept with complained it wasn't good enough?" She asked casually while stealing his drink.

"Not once." Tony said with confidence.

"Then what's the problem. You know what you can do so you don't need to prove it to us." She said with a smile and walked away. It took Tony all of five minutes to realise she was right. Izzy sat down on the couch with Bruce and the others. For now they could relax and have some fun. Soon they would need to plan their next move together.


	22. Chapter 22

"This place is a piece of shit." Izzy said harshly about a run down farm house her and Bruce were inspecting.

"I'd say most places in our price range would be like this." Bruce commented softly as he examined a damage wall.

"We could just rent, get more for the money." She pointed out.

"That wouldn't work for me. I may be blacklisted from renting... well, Hulk is." Bruce said with a look. Of course, owners don't really want their houses smashed to pieces.

"Right. Well if we're going halves in this you better be prepared to learn some maintenance skills." Izzy said as she checked out the kitchen.

"I know a few things. We could make a project out of it." Bruce said with a smile.

"Ooh, you can go shirtless and wear tight jeans... then you'll get all sweaty and-" She was cut off.

"Ok, I get it but the real estate agent doesn't need to hear about that." Bruce cut in with a smile. Izzy looked over to the older woman who didn't seem pleased.

"Sorry." Izzy grinned. Stark Tower was now fully repaired and they had all moved back there. Tony wasn't too happy that Bruce and Izzy were looking for a house outside the city. The couple were much more entertaining to Tony than what the others were. The two spent the rest of the day looking at houses in the small country towns outside the city. They needed one with some land and privacy. The problem was that most places on the market either didn't offer that privacy or were too expensive. Tony had offered to help despite wanting them to stay but that didn't feel right.

Bruce sat at his desk as Izzy took a shower. In all his years, he had nothing to show for himself. He had to walk away from everything when he fled to India. Once there he had worked for very little, just enough to get by. SHIELD had paid him a generous amount for his work but it wasn't enough for a house. Izzy was quite good with her money, she had saved a good amount despite living alone in the city. When they combined their money it was enough to get a house but nothing good enough. The only reason they had to live out of the city was because of Bruce and he didn't want Izzy to live in some run down old house because of him. If she wasn't with him she could stay in her nice apartment or even live in Stark Tower. Bruce was not financially secure and therefore could not get a loan from any bank. He also refused to allow Izzy to risk her financial credit by getting a loan. If Hulk destroyed the house she'd be left with nothing but a big debt. Bruce pushed his fingers through his hair and sighed loudly.

"Ah, so you're not busy." Tony said as he stepped into the room.

"Do you ever knock?" Bruce asked before looking over.

"Not in my house." Tony smirked. It was possible he liked having the Avengers live with him because it gave him a small amount of power over them. His house, his rules.

"What do you need Tony?" Bruce asked. He was tired and stressed. He was a bad option for Izzy, both from his age and Hulk. But if that was overlooked there was still the very obvious fact that he couldn't provide for her. He couldn't rent, couldn't live in the city, couldn't get a normal job to afford a house. He had nothing to offer her and was likely to drag her down. She was young, normal and secure in her life. The only problem with her life was him.

"I have an offer for you." Tony said while he inspected a few of Bruce's notebooks.

"I can't let you buy us a house Tony. I feel useless enough as it is." He replied while pushing his glasses up.

"This is a different offer." Tony said with a smile.

"What is it then?" Bruce asked impatiently.

"Well you see Bruce, I'm Tony Stark. And being Tony Stark, there is a certain pressure put on me to be the best. I have the best cars, best houses and most importantly: the best employees." Tony smirked as Bruce's eyes lit in understanding.

"You want to hire me?" Bruce asked slowly.

"I do. How many men can say they have the Hulk working for them?" Tony asked with a smirk.

"Well... I guess just you." Bruce got up with a smile and offered his hand. Tony gave it a firm shake and grinned.

"You start monday. Of course you can work from your country home when you get it but I will expect you to come in at least once a week for some face to face time." Tony smiled.

"Oh yes and the pay is exceptionally good." Tony added before walking out of the room. Bruce stared for a moment. Tony had helped him. Bruce sat on the bed and laid back. With this job he could get a loan and get a decent house for Izzy and him to live in. He wouldn't have to search for some minimum wage job to try and help contribute while Izzy supported them. He might not be a problem for Izzy afterall.

"You look relaxed." Izzy said as she came out in her pajamas and flopped unceremoniously onto the bed beside him.

"Tony's given me a job." Bruce said softly, still finding it hard to believe.

"That's good news." Izzy smiled softly and played with Bruce's hair which he enjoyed.

"Yeah it is... I was so worried about our situation and then this kind of happens." He replied.

"You were worried over our situation? I know house hunting isn't fun but we would have found somewhere." She looked to him seriously.

"We'd find somewhere yes, but nothing good enough for you. You deserve the best." He looked to her.

"I know this job will make it easier for us but we could have managed. We'd find someplace and fix it up." Izzy smiled softly.

"Still. If I didn't have a job we'd end up somewhere run down and you'd be supporting us both when you could have stayed in your apartment. You would have grown to resent me." He said quietly. Fearing he could lose her for such a situation.

"Me? Resent you for something like that. I'm an Aussie girl baby, we know how to rough it. I know what's important and what's not. What would be important is us not a house or who pays the bills." She touched his cheek gently.

"Well, I'm a man." He replied, making her chuckle.

"Yes you are and one hell of a man at that." She laughed. He smiled softly.

"Maybe to you. Anyway, men feel a certain responsibility to take care of their woman. I'm already so much older than you and with Hulk... I'm not really a catch as it is, but if I relied on you for money too..." He avoided her eyes.

"Hey, look at me. I'm not shallow. You don't need to make up for something you consider a flaw with money. Age doesn't matter, frankly men my age tend to be immature pricks who just want to sleep with as many women are possible. And Hulk is a bonus for sure, he's my personal body guard and snuggle buddy." She said, cupping his cheek to make him face her.

"Snuggle buddy?" Bruce asked with a raised eyebrow.

"He's big and cuddly so I figure he'd be good for snuggling." Izzy smiled.

"I see..." He smiled softly and looked to her.

"And for an added bonus, you're smart and hot. How many men have both of those qualities?" She teased.

"You think I'm hot?" He looked to her shyly.

"Oh yeah, smokin'." She smiled playfully, pushing a hand under his shirt.

"And aged scientist is hot to you?" He pushed.

"A mature man in glasses. Yum." She grinned.

"A beautiful young girl like you thinking that? Do you have you know... father issues?" He realised how awkward that question was after asking. She wrinkled her nose.

"Ew. You're nothing like my dad. He's 66 for one. So he's old enough to be your dad actually. And I have no issues like that. So never ever ask that again." She said seriously. He gave a nod.

"Right, sorry. I just can't understand why you like me..." He looked to her.

"You're cute and handsome. You're intelligent. You're kind of quiet but sweet and kind. You also wore a purple shirt when I met you, which probably has something to do with making a good first impression." She smiled softly.

"Your favorite colour, of course." He smiled.

"Yep. So all up, you've got the looks, the brains and the personality. I love that." She grinned.

"You love that?" He asked hesitantly. Izzy realised she used the 'L' word and stared for a moment before smiling shyly.

"Well yeah... so I guess that means I love you."


	23. Chapter 23

**Author's note: Updating early as I won't be able to update at my usual time. Enjoy!**

Bruce stared at the wonderful young woman in front of him. Loved. He was loved. And not just by anyone, but her. Izzy. He didn't know what to say. It was too soon for announcing love wasn't it? But hearing it come from her mouth did sound good. Something deep within him stirred, he knew that was Hulk. Hulk had needed to hear it as much as him. He pulled her to him quickly and shared a kiss.

"I love you too Izzy..." He whispered softly. For once it was her turn to blush.

After an awkward few minutes the pair joined the rest of the house. Bruce went to discuss with Tony what his job would be. He would be a consultant for the scienc division. Which mostly meant that Tony had a genuine reason to call him several times a day. Bruce wondered if he'd actually survive that. The day went by quickly after Bruce got the formalities out of the way. He was officially employed by Stark industries for an overly large sum of cash. With that sum of cash he and Izzy could now start looking for houses outside the city that were actually worth living in.

The next day saw Izzy and Bruce doing just that. They made their way around the country towns, looking at houses that might be right for them. It wasn't until late afternoon that they found it. A four bedroom, two bathroom newly built house just outside Westchester county. It had everything they could want. A large basement that they could use to build up a lab in. High ceilings incase Hulk decides to pay a visit. And an unfinished bathroom which Izzy announced would be done in purple. Bruce didn't mind, he was just happy it wasn't pink. They were also getting the house for a good deal, the owners had been building it but ended up divorcing so had to sell. All that was left was the unfinished main bathroom, carpetting two bedrooms and painting some of the rooms. Those were small jobs that could be done together. It also let them choose some of the colouring themselves.

A few days went by until Bruce was approved for a loan. With that they purchased the house and were well on their way. They would get the keys in two weeks. Until then they had a lot of work to do. Between Izzy's work at SHIELD and Bruce's work with Tony they somehow had to back up all of Izzy's apartment. Luckily she had all the furniture they'd need for the time being. Unluckily as it turned out, Izzy was to some degree; a hoarder. This meant Bruce spent a desturbingly large amount of time sorting through Izzy's kitchen. Where she owned more Tupperware than anyone he had ever known. Packing away all of her electronics, all of which she refused to throw out. Not her first iPod which no longer worked, not her old cell phone collection. Nothing. He was a little impressed with her video game collection. Izzy was so fussy about what she kept, she had original packaging for her gameboy and it was all in perfect condition. Bruce found himself learning more about Izzy by sorting through her things. He learnt what was most important to her and why. He learnt what she was willing to part with. Bruce's lack of stuff was made up by Izzy's overload of stuff. He did manage to declutter a lot but she was very determined to keep all her old electronics. She somehow believed they'd be important one day. He had to think she might be right with just how good of a condition it was all in. He was surprised that she even had packaging for the barbies she had as a child. So she had always been very careful with her toys. Bruce found it a little cute that she loved and cared for those things to such an extent. It made him wonder if she would treat him with the same love and care.

There was some drama involved in packing up her apartment. He had a spare key and was allowed to go to her apartment when she was at work. He was happy she trusted him with all her belongings but ended up finding a few things he wished he hadn't. Most notably; a box of keepsakes from ex-boyfriends. Bruce could understand wanting to keep the memories. He would never forget Betty. But he didn't like that out of curiousity he looked at the love letters from other men. All of which made him jealous. He also had to look at the photos. The few men she had dated prior to him were young and good looking. This made his insecurities build. He packed that box away with anything he felt would be forgotten about. His last big discovery was in her bedroom. He had expected it to some extent; a lot of women had them. But he was still a little embarassed finding her 'special' toy hidden away with her underwear, more embarassed finding it to be bright green. He was awkward about it and tried to be accepting but something deep within him stirred. This was an item that could do the job he did but better, longer and anytime she wanted. As his insecurities were high already, he felt absolutely no guilt in accidentally throwing it out with the rest of the trash. He felt justified knowing that if he had actually owned a porn collection and she got rid of it, he would be understanding. No one liked the idea of being replaced sexually by anything else. With the toy out of the way, Bruce finished packing up the bedroom.

"Honey, I'm home!" Izzy called out as she entered the box filled apartment. She had a chinese take out in her arms.

"Hey you, how are your day?" Bruce said with a smile as he came out to help her. They sat on the floor to eat their meals.

"Good, kind of busy today. How far did you get with packing?" She said with a mouth slightly smeared in sauce. He wiped the sauce off before licking it from his thumb.

"Finished off the kitchen and did all of the bedroom." Bruce said, looking away a little awkwardly as he remembered what he had done.

"Ah, you found Mr Buzz?" She grinned.

"You could say that." He looked over to her.

"Don't worry about it." She said with a smile.

"I may have misplaced your Mr Buzz actually..." Bruce said while looking to the side. She gave a shrug.

"Doens't matter. I have a new big green toy to play with."


	24. Chapter 24

Bruce laid awake in bed beside Izzy. It was 4am. In the morning they would pick up their keys and be moving into their new home. Tony had demanded to let his people take care of the move. He said it would be less stressful for Bruce, which Bruce agreed with but knew there was more to it. After a bit of investigating, he discovered that Tony wanted to set the basement up for the couple as a house warming present. Tony must have known they would have refused as his idea of a lab usually meant a lot of spending. But after finding it out from Steve, Bruce decided to just accept it. If he was to work for Tony and do a proper job from home he would likely need some equipment. Izzy was still kept in the dark with this as she would likely beat Tony and demand he take everything back; unless she saw the lab for herself. She was a tech lover and so she would likely accept it after seeing it. Bruce didn't like keeping secrets but this one was harmless and would result in a new lab.

Bruce still worried though. Not about the lab or Izzy finding out that he knew about it but what life with her would be like. He had never actually lived with a woman. While Izzy calmed him at Stark tower, Bruce knew it was because she was relatively calm compared to the others. But between her and Bruce, she had the stronger personality. They had only really lived together for a short amount of time as well. Living alone together for a longer period might also bring problems. They had never had a fight so he didn't know how they would work out a problem if it popped up. He knew they would have a problem eventually, all couples did. The couples that were meant to be together could work it out, not all couples were that lucky. What if they had a problem that they couldn't solve? What if she got him so angry that Hulk hurt her. He would never be able to forgive himself if that happened. There was the big age gap between them so that usually meant a different opinion on a lot of subjects. She would like different things, she might even think some of things he liked made him old... He had to stop himself from worrying about these things. Izzy was a reasonable person. They could sort out any problems in a mature, understanding way. She was smart and would not likely jump to the conclussion that he was old just because he liked different things.

The thought struck him like thunder. PMS. While he knew it was foolish for a man to constantly blame a woman's bad mood on PMS and it was equally foolish to be insensitive during that time in a woman's cycle. Bruce knew that there would be certain times when PMS would effect Izzy's mood. It could effect her in both positive and negative ways but it was the negative effects he was worried about. He hadn't had to deal with that issue before and wondered how he would handle it. Was it offensive to offer her comfort food? Should he give her space or make sure he was constantly there for her? Bruce sat up and pushed his fingers through his hair. He realised he was getting carried away with worries. So far they had passed tests no other couple could dream of. What other woman could handle Hulk? What other man had stopped Loki from controlling his girlfriend? What other couple had Tony Stark probing them like they were a science project? None. Bruce looked down to Izzy and smiled. The proof was right there of how well they worked. Hulk listened to her and behaved himself for her. Hulk never behaved. Hulk was all of Bruce's deepest emotions. He also noticed that despite being an insomniac, Izzy had been falling asleep easily with him. Maybe they were both what each other needed.

Not allowing himself another worry, Bruce finally fell asleep. Izzy woke at 9 and saw that Bruce was still asleep. She gave him a kiss on the forehead and went to shower. Today they were moving into their new home. Izzy was a little nervous to be really living with Bruce but she knew they'd do fine in time. She hummed as she washed her hair, allowing herself little fantasies; waking up to breakfast in bed, Bruce washing her back in the tub, eating together out in the garden that they would grow. She felt like a school girl. She wondered if her age would bother Bruce, she realised it would probably be his age that bothered him. She would assure him everyday that age meant nothing and that he was still as good looking as a 25 year old. She smiled to herself, his age actually made him more handsome. Not that she was into older men but he had aged very well and looked like a grown man, while a lot of 25 year old men still looked like boys.

After her shower Bruce still hadn't stirred so she went out to make breakfast. She had to keep herself busy as she wanted to go out to the house but couldn't until Tony's men were done with the moving. She was pretty strict with her orders of where things would go but most of the little details would be left for her and Bruce.

"Morning all!" She called out cheerfully. The others weren't so enthusiastic; Tony had kept them up drinking again. Izzy and Bruce had snuck away early so they got some sleep. At least she believed they had both got some sleep. She worked on cooking up some scrambled eggs. The bacon didn't last long in a house with so many men. Steve hovered around nearby as she cooked. She rolled her eyes; being a man from the 40s, Steve didn't know how to cook a decent meal. Which meant until he learned he was stuck relying on the others. Tony had tried to teach him to cook but that ended in a fight everytime. For a while Steve happily lived off his large supply of canned goods but one could only eat soup and baked beans for so long. Izzy sorely hoped that they wouldn't let poor Steve starve. She dished up three large helpings of scrambled eggs and toast. Taking two into the bedroom as she left one for Steve who was grateful. She believed it was mostly pride that Steve had trouble learning. He didn't want to ask because he felt silly not having a very normal skill. Steve's mother had died when he was a teenager but had never had a chance to learn to cook. His own attempts at cooking weren't nearly as good as someone who knew what they were doing, even with something as simple as scrambled eggs.

Coming into the bedroom Izzy smiled, he was still asleep. She sat the two plates down on the desk and moved onto the bed. She gently rubbed his chest and trailed kisses over his cheek and neck, whispering to him.

"Bruce, darling. It's time to wake up. Today we start our new adventure." She smiled down to him as his eyes fluttered open. She was glad he was easy to wake, she didn't want to set him off by shaking him or having to thump him awake. He smiled up to her sleepily.

"Morning." He said huskily. He sat and put on his glasses before waking enough to eat with her. He felt much more refreshed after all his worrying. After breakfast he showered while Izzy packed the last of their things to take out. By the time he was finished it was time to go. Everyone was coming to see the house.

It took two cars and a lot of loud music before they had arrived at the house. Everyone had tried to come up with a name for the property but that only caused a lot of arguements. Pulling up outside they all got out and looked around. Bruce smiled and lead Izzy over to the door. He gave a small playful grin as he scooped her up bridal style.

"I believe this is what tradition calls for." He smiled.

"Bruce, we're not married." Izzy laughed.

"Not yet." He whispered with a smile.

The end.

**Author's note: Yes, it's the end! Thank you all so much for reading. I really loved writing Taming the beast. Please be on the lookout for a one shot lemon, if you're intested in those kinds of things. It will be out within a few days and titled "Housewarming". As I am moving in a few days I will likely not bring out any new fics until I am settled. The next main fic I do will likey be another with Loki or maybe a Steve, Bruce will probably return in the future but I make no promises! Please review!**


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